


the numerous assorted issues in the life of tsukishima kei

by symphorine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Haikyuu!! Big Bang 2016, Multi, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, karasuno first years friendship, minor bokuakakuro, minor kiyoasadaisuga, minor yachi/yui, pining induced angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:10:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8013235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphorine/pseuds/symphorine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima Kei's life is getting very difficult. He would start a revolution against fate and the universe if he wasn't so painfully aware it's entirely his own fault. He's starting to think he secretely hates himself, honestly. Or maybe he angered some deity, somehow. Or it's karma from a previous life. Whatever it is, he's fucked.</p><p>(Yamaguchi just thinks he's scared.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this took up most of my summer to write, and i couldn't have done it without [vera](http://chartreuseraven.tumblr.com/), who was my beta and helped make this fic what it is now. i couldn't have done it without you and i'm very happy we could finish it together!
> 
> also many thanks to notallbees and candy_harlot in particular who sprinted with me again and again, you helped me a lot ♥
> 
> and thank you to everyone who didn't tell me to stop whining on twitter :')
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy this fic!

Tsukishima Kei is contemplating the door to get out of his own shop with longing. He _must_ have been a terrible person in a past life, he reflects. There's no other possibility. He hasn't done anything, since his birth nineteen years ago, to deserve having to listen to Hinata talking, at _length_ , about _Kageyama_ , of all people, and about his _feelings_ for him.

He must have been a serial killer, he decides. At the very least.

“I don't know what to do,” Hinata finally sighs.

His head thumps against Tukishima's counter as he lets it fall forward. Tsukishima makes a neutral acknowledging noise, wondering once again why _he_ had decided to get a crush on _Hinata Shouyou_ , of _all people_. He can't even blame the universe for this, he did this to himself. He's very aware of that, because he's discussed it with Yamaguchi, and his best friend's hysterical laughter the first time he'd told him was, and still is, the best summary of the situation he's ever heard.

Hinata raises his head and lets it fall again, heavy on his own hands. Tsukishima tries to look busy, moves a few papers from one pile to another, looks past the tall potted plants and outside in case there's a client, someone to save him from this hell, but nothing. He ignores the heartache as best as he can, which is actually very good. He's had a lot of practice.

“Did you try asking him outright?” he suggests, not bothering to mask the irritated tone of his voice. “He's even denser than you, so unless you spelled it out clearly, he's probably not going to know.”

“ I tried, but it's not even like he rejects me,” Hinata repeats, like he's done a thousand times during his rant, sliding his fingers up his already disheveled hair. “He just doesn't seem to get  _ anything _ .”

“ Maybe he just doesn't do romance,” Tsukishima shrugs, stepping around and going to one of the shelves that are lining up the walls. “Apart from being married to  _ the great concept of magical energy _ , I mean.”

He knows there's something akin to bitterness in his voice, knows Hinata picks up on it. He doesn't really care anymore. He inspects a few bottles of common solutions for everyday potions, makes sure they're all labeled properly, and the silence grows while Hinata chews on his lower lip.

“I don't think so,” he eventually confesses. “We've talked about it before, and he's had crushes before, it's just – well, I guess he doesn't have one on me,” he deflates. “Maybe he would understand what I'm trying to tell him if he did.”

Tsukishima holds the biting remark on the tip of his tongue. Hinata really seems down, and as much of an asshole as he likes to be, and as much as the situation is making him want to  _ scream _ , he probably should refrain from insulting him right now. Still, with the way Kageyama and Hinata compete in everything, he has a new category ready to be proposed.

Kageyama has a crush on Hinata. Tsukishima knows it. Yamaguchi knows it, Yachi knows it, all of the people who share their dorm know it. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if their entire class knew it. He's still not sure how Hinata manages not to see it, but then again, there's a saying about blind love, and he's in no position to judge on that.

It's painful to watch, though. And embarrassing. And annoying, because if they just  _ got together _ , then at least he wouldn't have to listen to this anymore, to be reminded of his own hopeless feelings, and maybe, with a little luck, his brain would recognize them as something not to touch and he would finally get peace. But no, they dance around each other – or, well, fumble and fall and barely catch themselves, honestly. No position to judge, but  _ seriously _ .

“He's head over heels for you,” he grits out, still facing the shelves and seemingly very interested by a small vial of dried rose petals – because irony is out to get him and he picked it up without looking. “Literally everyone knows he is.”

“Then why doesn't he make a move?” Hinata asks exasperatedly from very close next to him.

Tsukishima doesn't jump, doesn't yelp, just calmly puts the vial back and hopes nobody is listening to his heartbeat, because a little scare doesn't explain the way it's still speeding up.

“He probably needs a little nudge,” he offers, defeated by fate.

“Do you actually mean the little part or do you think he needs the equivalent of being steamrolled with it?” Hinata snorts.

“Ha, ha. Think of something instead of trying to be funny,” he shoots back dryly.

Hinata sticks his tongue out at him before crossing his arms and letting his eyes wander over the products Tsukishima had neatly lined. There are mostly ingredients for potions there, and a few different marking materials for spells. Tsukishima knows all of their uses by heart, including those that aren't mentioned in any of the textbooks his friends carry around. It's probably why his shop – well, _the_ shop, it's not his yet – hasn't closed yet. The products are pretty basic, apart from a few special orders, but his grandmother before him, and her parents before her, and his great-grandfather’s aunt before them, and probably all his ancestors before that, have always had an uncanny understanding of the different ways of magic. He was born with that talent, too, able to perceive the slight changes in magic currents around him before he'd learned to read. It makes it a lot easier to know why one ingredient works better than another, why one word changed gives such a different result, if you can feel their effects in real time.

People talk about a sixth sense, something that has to either be innate or acquired over long years of magical study. Everyone says it's a gift, a sign he is destined to great things. That's what he's heard from pretty much everyone the minute they'd known about it, that's what they'd told his brother too.

Tsukishima doesn't care about his destiny, he just wants to be left in peace.

“I just can't think of anything,” Hinata admits, tearing him away from his thoughts.

He looks like a kicked puppy, and Tsukishima gives in. If he wants this particular bit of peace in his life, he's going to have to help it happen.

“What if you tried to go out with someone else?” he suggests, turning around to face Hinata. “He's the type to get jealous, after all. That would probably make him realize something. Or, in the extremely improbable case that I’m wrong, it might help you move on.”

“What? I can't do that!” Hinata protests, opening his arms. “Wouldn't dating someone complicate things? And I can't just trick someone into doing this, that wouldn't be fair to them! And what if I do fall for them but Kageyama _does_ like me?”

Tsukishima would like to take the universe as his witness, and hopes when the time comes to explain why he's doing this, the universe admits it didn't help enough and forced him, indirectly. He takes a deep breath and crosses his arms.

“Go out with me, then.”

That stops Hinata right in the middle of his nervous rambling, gaping like a fish all of a sudden. It amuses Tsukishima, a little bit, which is good, considering what he's going to say.

“I already know,” he lists, holding up one finger. “So you're not tricking me into this. When Kageyama's stupid ass realizes he likes you, I can leave you two to sort it out, and it doesn't complicate things. And you always complain that I'm mean, and cold, and picking on you, so I doubt you'll ever fall in love with me.”

There, he said it. One of his greatest insecurities, laid out to the blissfully ignorant Hinata. He tries to breathe normally.

“You. Uh. Really?” Hinata stutters. “You'd do that? For me?”

“I just offered,” Tsukishima says, rolling his eyes. “If you'd rather try your chance with someone else, though, be my guest.”

“No! No, it's great, I'm just surprised. What would you get out of it?” Hinata questions, sounding slightly suspicious.

Tsukishima considers saying the truth, saying he gets to spend more time with him. There's no way Hinata would take him seriously, anyway. But he's been honest enough for today, so he says the next most truthful thing.

“I get to piss off Kageyama,” he smirks. “I need some entertainment.”

Hinata still looks confused for a handful of seconds, then suddenly he smiles, as bright as ever. Tsukishima refuses to let his brain make the sun comparison one more time.

“Okay then,” Hinata nods. “We could start tomorrow? When you come for lunch?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay. Wow. I hope this works,” Hinata sighs, coming back to his spot in front of the counter

He bends down to get his bag, and for the second he spends out of his sight, Tsukishima allows himself to screw his eyes shut, and prepares himself mentally. It's good, he thinks. It's a good thing.

“Oh, uh. What you said, about how I always complain about you being cold,” Hinata hesitates, still looking at him. “You know that's not all I think of you, right? We wouldn't be friends if it was.”

“Obviously,” Tsukishima answers. “Now go. I have to close soon.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow,” Hinata says, smiling again as he steps back toward the door.

Tsukishima watches him go and lets himself slip on his seat. With a flick of his hands, he flips the sign on the door, listening to the last notes of the bell ringing through the shop.

It's a good thing, he thinks. Hinata just basically confirmed he has no chance with him, and it hurts a bit, but it's like putting alcohol on a wound. It hurts before it heals. He's gonna get some time with him, as a guilty favor to himself, and then he's going to let go of his ridiculous crush, because Hinata and Kageyama are going to be a thing, most likely an unbreakable item. They work too well with each other for it to be anything else, he's seen it firsthand. He's going to indulge a little and then get his peace. It's a good thing.

His phone is already dialing Yamaguchi's number when he grabs it, and he doesn't even take the usual second to be annoyed by that before he brings it to his ear.

“ _ Tsukki _ ?”

“I think I just took the most questionable decision of my entire life.”

“ _ Are you drunk?” _

Tsukishima frowns, confused.

“What? No, why?”

“ _ You're not usually this dramatic. What happened? _ ”

He explains everything with the calmest tone he can manage, because he's an adult, dammit, he can handle feelings. In hindsight, it's perhaps not that good of a decision, but he's able to live with it. He's going to have to, anyway.

There's a long silence after he's done explaining, and he's starting to think Yamaguchi hung up on him when he finally speaks up.

“ _ Tsukki, what the  _ fuck.”

* * *

“I didn't exactly think it through, okay?” Tsukishima hisses, hauling one of the day's delivery in the back room.

“No kidding,” Yamaguchi snorts behind him, a similar box in his arms. “But I agree, that's the most questionable decision you've made in your life. Surpasses taking over the store instead of going to college by far.”

“This is so helpful, thank you,” Tsukishima deadpans.

They brought in the last boxes, so he produces a cutter for Yamaguchi and they open them. He himself slides his fingers along the tape holding the box closed, and the panels part easily.

“Can't wait to be able to do that too,” Yamaguchi mutters, tearing his cutter away from the sticky tape.

They work in silence for a few minutes, and things feel almost normal. It's a regular occurrence for them, to have Yamaguchi accompany Tsukishima to the store and help him before heading to his classes. It's usually done in the comfortable quiet brought by years of knowing each other, and it has always been a moment a bit out of time for them.

This time, though, Tsukishima can't stop thinking about Hinata and his own offer, and it distracts him. He swears when he lets a jar full of small seashells fall, and only Yamaguchi's quick reflexes save it. The rush of air coming from his magic as it softens the fall is a bit too powerful, and almost knocks an empty box over.

“Thanks,” Tsukishima mumbles, putting the jar away.

“You shouldn't do it,” Yamaguchi answers.

Tukishima sighs and leans against the wall, ignoring the rest of the merchandise. Yamaguchi mirrors his position and crosses his arms, lips pursed.

“ It's not like I can back down  _ now _ . I'm the one who offered.”

“Sure you could.”

“And be the asshole again.”

“That doesn't stop you, usually,” Yamaguchi points out. “I get that it's Hinata, but is it that different from usual?”

Tsukishima opens his mouth, but he has no quick retort ready. Nothing to avoid the subject.

“There'll be plenty of time to be the asshole later,” he finally says, looking fixedly at a point just right of Yamaguchi's head. “But if this is all I get, I'd rather take it.”

Yamaguchi stays silent, then, for longer than Tsukishima thought he would. When he finally looks at him properly, there's a dash of pity mixed with the contempt. Any other time, it would make him angry.

“I know it's pathetic,” Tsukishima says, leaning away from the wall.

“A bit,” Yamaguchi agrees, with a slight smile. “But mostly, you're going to get hurt. You know it.”

He knows it. But like he just said – if it's all he gets, then he might as well take it. A gift to himself before he buries his own feelings once and for all.

“I know what I'm doing.”

“I hope so.”

They work in silence until Yamaguchi has to leave, and Tsukishima gets ready to face a morning full of mostly dull clients and contemplation of his fate.

* * *

He closes in a rush, all but pushing the old lady asking him about thyme outside, and texts Yachi to tell the others he'll be late. He traces the line that completes the protecting charm around his store, hidden in the engravings at the bottom of the building. It’s the doing of his grandmother, and he remembers watching her working on it during three days straight, when he was a child, silently fascinated. He'd spent a lot of it asking Akiteru questions about how it worked, what it was for, what were the signs' signification. His brother had done his best to answer. They both knew they shouldn't disturb their grandmother while she was focused.

Tsukishima takes the direction of campus, and more specifically the classroom where he knows his friends are waiting for him. It's a ten minutes walk, punctuated by people – mostly his college students customers – greeting him. He nods back in recognition but keeps walking, unwilling as ever to make small talk. It's only once he's in front of the door that he realizes that, as Hinata's boyfriend – pretend boyfriend – he should probably have prepared to do something out of the ordinary.

Too late. He pushes the door open, and Hinata's there before he can even step inside, whispering as fast as he can.

“I haven't told them yet, I wanted you to be there, so come with me now and let me talk, okay,” he instructs, bouncing around nervously.

Tsukishima has to actively suppress any thought pertaining to Hinata's cuteness and nods imperceptibly. It doesn't seem to do anything to ease Hinata's nerves, but he has no idea what else to do. He fleetingly entertains the idea of holding his hand, but he's pretty sure it would startle Hinata, and with the state he's in, possibly make him faint.

He doesn't understand. It's fake, there's no need to worry. It's only when he catches the way Hinata eyes constantly go back to Kageyama that it dawns on him Hinata isn't worried about him.

Right.

They walk up to the group. Yamaguchi is explaining something to Kageyama, one of their textbooks open between them, and Yachi is opening her bento, raising her head when they arrive.

“Hello, Tsukishima-kun,” she smiles. “Late again, I hear.”

“The price for offering good customer service,” he says flatly, sitting on the chair across her. “I dream of being rude to old ladies at night.”

Hinata clears his throat and tries to stand still, but his legs look like they're following a dance and the rest of his body didn't get the memo. He clears his throat again, finally getting Kageyama and Yamaguchi's attention. Tsukishima doesn't miss the glance his best friend throws his way, but ignores it.

“Sit down, you're going to trip over your own feet,” he tells Hinata.

His eyes widen, like he's surprised to hear him, but he nods after a second and pulls the last chair for himself. He starts drumming on the table then, obviously not sure how to approach the subject. Tsukishima braces himself.

“We're dating,” Hinata blurts out.

There's a moment of silence.

“We?” Yachi repeats, looking around.

“Tsukishima and me,” Hinata clarifies, gesturing between them.

Kageyama looks like he's torn between laughing and yelling, and Yachi is just as stunned. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, laughs.

“What?” Hinata asks defensively. “You think it's not true?”

“Oh, no, I believe you, Tsukki told me already. I just can't believe you almost failed at telling people you're dating,” Yamaguchi snickers.

“And how did you want me to do it?” Hinata retort, redder by the second.

Tsukishima is grateful for the small argument, and makes a mental note to thank Yamaguchi later. He hadn't looked forward to the awkwardness, but it's mostly faded already. Yachi is congratulating him, and he shrugs, digging into his own lunch.

He doesn't miss the way Hinata sneaks looks at Kageyama every five seconds. It's starting to morph into actual staring when he taps on Hinata's hand under the table and leans back a little. Hinata follows him, curious, eyes still flitting to Kageyama, and Tsukishima barely suppresses a sigh before whispering.

“If you don't stop being so obvious, this is useless.”

“Sorry, I can't help it,” Hinata mumbles back, eyes going to Kageyama again.

Tsukishima steels himself, tries to ban logical and rational thought from his mind, and grabs Hinata's face to turn it toward himself, getting his full attention.

“This doesn't work if you don't seem a least a little interested in me,” he hisses. “I know you're a mediocre liar at best, but make an effort.”

Hinata frowns and opens his mouth to reply, and Tsukishima only has the time to slap his hand on Hinata's face before he protests loudly. Luckily, they've known each other long enough that he manages to communicate by a simple expression that this is really, _really_ not the time to attract attention. He takes his hand back before Hinata can lick it, and gives him one last scowl before going back to his lunch.

The others are directing curious eyes at them, but he ignores them, focused on his rice, and for once Hinata does the same. Tsukishima is relieved when they all go back to eating, even Kageyama, who does throw him a suspicious look before diving into his food.

_ At least it's working. _

He doesn't really have to savor the bittersweet taste of things going according to plan, because a smaller hand makes its way on his.

Tsukishima freezes, and logical and rational thoughts choose a very bad moment to come back, screaming and screeching around his brain. Hinata is looking the exact opposite of casual, redder than his hair and glaring a hole into his lunch. He glances at him for a fraction of second, startled when he meets his gaze, and turns his head the other side, leaving Tsukishima to his short-circuit.

It's not like they've never touched. It's not even like they've never had friendly touches, hugs or prolonged contact. Hinata is a tactile person, prone to throw his arms around someone's shoulder or, failing to reach them, their waist, when he talks to them. Tsukishima is used to this, tells himself he shouldn't react like this. It does nothing to appease the storm in his brain, and his more lucid side still bounces off the interior of his head in a wild frenzy for a few seconds before he catches himself.

Yachi giggles, and he glares at her, awfully aware that he's also  _ blushing _ .

He hates having feelings  _ so much _ .

“You guys are adorable,” she smiles, and he doesn’t miss the hint of gentle mockery in her voice.

Yamaguchi isn't better, obviously trying not to laugh, and if Tsukishima hadn't already been on this end of Kageyama's intense looks, he'd almost qualify this one as offended. He hisses out a weak “Shut up,” while Hinata is still busy not looking at him, and starts eating again, shoving down food in a rare fashion in the hopes having his mouth full will dispense him from having to react to another comment.

The others take pity on them, thankfully – or, more accurately, Yamaguchi is still trying not to choke on his own laughter, and Yachi and Kageyama don't usually tease outright, so Tsukishima gets a reprieve. By the time they're done eating, he's fairly sure his face has found a normal color again.

He hand is still under Hinata's, who has it firmly pinned in place despite being obviously embarrassed about it. Tsukishima tried several times to slide it away discreetly, but never managed to move it more than a few millimeters, and abandoned after the fourth attempt.

He finally gets his hand back when Hinata has to move his to wrap his lunchbox again, and he knows he's too quick to snatch it back, but his self-preservation instinct has been on full alert for an hour and he's starting to agree with it.

“I'll walk you back to the store,” Hinata offers when he's done, tone oddly serious.

“Don't you have class?”

“We still have half an hour before the next one,” Yamaguchi interrupts, the picture of innocence and helpfulness.

Tsukishima glares at him, now having to wait even more before he finally has a moment alone to – not recover, he does _not_ need to _recover_ from holding Hinata's hand–

“Just enough time to go there and back,” Yachi supplies, sincerely helpful.

“No, he's going to get lost and be late,” Kageyama snorts, poking at Hinata. “Again.”

“Fuck off, it was months ago, I know the way by now,” Hinata protests, frowning when Kageyama evades his vengeful kick.

“You remember to read the road signs, you mean,” Tsukishima deadpans.

“Shouldn't you be nicer to me as my boyfriend?”

Tsukishima just raises an eyebrow and stands there, waiting for Hinata to finish packing up and leave with him. He buries his hands in his pocket, deep where nobody else can take them, and after a few more exchanges, Yamaguchi pushes Hinata in the direction of the door and they finally set off.

Hinata is strangely silent as they walk, kicking at stray leaves and pebbles without looking up. Tsukishima is thankful for the silence, but seeing Hinata so calm is always unnerving and usually means he's thinking. Which, in itself, is already motive for cautiousness. Which, in this particular fake dating situation and combined with the jumble of Tsukishima's thoughts, is only making him more and more anxious about the outcome of Hinata’s reflexion, whatever it might be. He tries not to touch Hinata and at the same time a small part of him wishes he could touch him again. He hasn't been able to completely relax for two hours, his entire body tense like he's ready to jump. He doesn't like it.

They reach the store soon, and Tsukishima has to make a conscious effort not to run to the door. He touches the doorknob and hears the lock turn, smoothed by time and use. It opens before them, the bell silent, knowing it’s only him.

“Hey,” Hinata starts, “I was thinking-”

“Dangerous activity for you,” Tsukishima punctuates.

“-and,” he continues with a light eye roll, used to it, “we should go on a date.”

Tsukishima blinks twice, very slowly.

“A what?”

“A date? You know, that thing people who date each other do because they enjoy spending time together?” Hinata answers. “I think it would help make it real.”

“Look real,” Tsukishima corrects absently.

“Yeah, that. What do you think?”

Tsukishima isn’t thinking. Tsukishima is trying to ignore the fact that he is absolutely torturing himself for no good reason, other than his own stupidity. Tsukishima would _love_ to go on a date with Hinata, and there lies the entire problem.

“Why not,” he says, having long since mastered the art of sounding as uninterested as possible in everything. “But something simple, and that you know won’t make me want to go home immediately.”

“I’ll think about it,” Hinata snorts. “I take it anything with children or too many people is already a no?”

“You know me so well.”

“Sometimes you really are like a bear.”

“What part of my person,” Tsukishima sighs, gesturing at himself, “makes you think of a bear? My bulging muscles, perhaps? Or my incredible hairiness?”

“Your way with people. I’m surprised you haven’t mauled one of your clients yet,” Hinata smiles.

“Keep talking like this and you’ll be my first victim,” Tsukishima replies.

“Oh, before I forget,” Hinata adds, words a little bit too fast, “how do you feel about kissing?”

“Kissing?”

_ Kissing _ . Fuck the universe.

“Kissing me,” Hinata clarifies. “It would make it more believable too. I’m not saying full-on making out, just, you know. Kisses.”

There’s something in Tsukishima’s brain that gives up right then, which is oddly freeing. He guesses it’s his preservation instinct.

“Sure,” he shrugs. “As long as you don’t drool on me.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m a phenomenal kisser,” Hinata retorts.

“Yes, yes, if you say so,” Tsukishima smiles, obviously not believing him.

Hinata narrows his eyes and looks ready to yank him down and kiss him right there and then to prove it, but his phone buzzes. He digs it up and glances at the message.

“Oh shit, I’ll be late,” he swears, turning around. “See you!”

“What, and I don’t even get a goodbye kiss?” Tsukishima deadpans.

Hinata stops and turns back to him, seems to hesitate for a second, and then grabs his jacket and stands on his toes, just high enough to brush his lips against Tsukishima’s cheek.

“There,” he says, and starts running in the direction of campus, his phone against his ear.

Probably calling Yamaguchi to tell him he’d be late, Tsukishima thinks as he gets inside. Nobody even tries to all Kageyama anymore, he hates talking on the phone. He leaves his bag at its usual place behind the counter, shrugs off his jacket and puts away his earphones. He catches himself touching his face where Hinata just kissed him, eyes fixed on the ground just before his store.

He refuses to think about it.

* * *

He doesn’t dread lunch the next day as much as he thought he would. Hinata is waiting for him again, much calmer this time, and he takes his seat next to him without a word. Kageyama isn’t there yet, so it’s only Yachi and Yamaguchi with them for a while. They’re all talking about one of their professors and Tsukishima listens absently, not feeling very concerned. Hinata isn’t holding his hand, but he’s leaning against him, gesturing wildly with his chopsticks now and then, and Tsukishima has to duck.

Kageyama arrives out of breath and looking stormy, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“What’s wrong this time?” Hinata asks as their friend sits down so hard it makes the chair protest.

“ None of them can carve a single fucking wood charm.  _ None _ ,” he seethes, slamming his lunch on the table.

“Told you you shouldn’t tutor first years,” Yamaguchi reminds him with his mouth half-full.

“ I didn’t think they would be so bad at  _ everything _ ,” Kageyama says, dragging his hand down his face.

“Or maybe you’re bad at teaching,” Tsukishima suggests with a smirk.

Hinata kicks him under the table, out of sight of the others. Kageyama looks at him and seems ready to fight, but Yamaguchi reminds him he needs to eat now, and he starts munching in fuming silence. They all listen to Yachi and Hinata comparing the merits of the different types of rice they’d bought the day before. He throws a suspicious look at Hinata’s lunch when he hears him describe his cooking process.

“You put beer in it?” Yachi repeats, obviously as weirded out as him.

“Yeah, for the taste, you know,” Hinata replies, making a vague hand gesture. “I had to finish the bag but I still hate the taste, so.”

“ _ Beer? _ ”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“I know you have no idea how to cook but that’s a new level,” Kageyama remarks, finally done seething about his students.

“It tastes good!”

“Nothing tastes bad to you as long as it’s comestible,” Tsukishima observes.

“Not true,” Hinata counters.

“Name one thing you didn’t eat because you thought it was bad,” Yamaguchi says, raising his eyebrows. “Just one.”

They all watch as Hinata concentrates, brows furrowed, knowing he won’t have an answer. They’ve known him for years, enough time to know that no kind of food is safe near him. Even Kageyama, who still challenges him to eating contests, has less of an endless perpetually hungry pit for a stomach.

It takes Hinata enough time to realize he doesn’t have anything to prove he’s right that they’re all done by the time he gives up. He grumbles and shovels what’s left of his food down his throat at the speed of light, and Tsukishima would watch with disgusted interest if Kageyama hadn’t grabbed his arm.

“What?” he says, unimpressed by Kageyama’s permanent scowl.

“Listen,” Kageyama starts, “I have no idea why he’s dating you, or why you’re dating him, but-”

“If I hurt him you’ll break my face?” Tsukishima guesses. “Look at me, I’m so scared.”

“You better be,” Kageyama says, absolutely sincere. “Because I swear I’ll find a way to make you regret it.”

Tsukishima doesn’t feel particularly threatened. As much of a genius as Kageyama is, he knows he can handle him, easily. It wouldn’t even be the first time – their relationship, before reaching the stage of begrudging friendship, has known more downs than ups. But something in the way Kageyama is saying those words, makes him hesitate before answering.

It makes him feel small, for a second. He’s never been this passionate about anything, or anyone, but here Kageyama is, in all his irritating self, backed up by his unwavering affection for Hinata. It’s something Tsukishima doubts he could ever imitate.

It makes him feel like an impostor, somehow, suddenly way too aware of the nature of this boyfriend charade. He smiles.

“I’d like to see you try,” he says, lightly pushing Kageyama away with the tips of his fingers. “It’s been some time since we’ve fought.”

“You’d lose, now,” Kageyama asserts.

He really doesn’t feel like actually fighting.

“Probably,” he concedes, shrugging. “ _I’m_ not a genius.”

Kageyama frowns again, in a slightly different Tsukishima interrupts him.

“I don’t plan on hurting him,” he declares, quietly.

“I know. I just don’t want you to do it accidentally either,” Kageyama replies.

He looks ready to add something else when Hinata surprises them both, appearing at Tsukishima’s side.

“I’m done, I’m done, we can go,” he says. “I’ll see you later?” he adds for Kageyama.

He doesn’t seem to notice that he’s interrupted something, and Tsukishima exchanges a long-suffering look with Kageyama. If there’s anything they’ve finally bonded over, it’s Hinata being himself.

“Let’s leave, then,” Tsukishima sighs, letting Hinata grab his hand and lead them out.

* * *

He’s explaining the use of a hand-carved luck charm to another extenuated student when the bell rings that evening, a particular sound that announces his friends. He makes the guy pay, knowing he’ll come back the next week anyway, because he seems to be on a quest to try every object he can buy in the store in hopes it will help him pass. Tsukishima doesn’t really mind, if that’s what makes the guy happy. He’s usually an accommodating customer.

Hinata bounces in and takes the guy’s place when he leaves, a big smile on his face.

“We learned something so _cool_ today,” he starts, lifting his hand.

“No!” the other three yell together, falling over each other in hopes of stopping Hinata.

“I just want to show him!”

“Hinata,” Yamaguchi pleads, “it took us hours to get your spell to stop because you couldn’t do it yourself.”

“I know what I did wrong,” Hinata protests, “I can do it this time.”

“Not in my shop,” Tsukishima cuts, ready to activate the safety measures weaved into the building in case of natural disasters.

Hinata seems disappointed but lets his hand fall, to the obviously relief of everyone else. Tsukishima lets the magic on his fingertips diffuse in the air, allows the invisible currents to find their usual languid course again. The others make their way into the back shop, where he knows they’ll stay to study before going home. They’d gotten into that habit as soon as they had started college, his shop a way more convenient location than the libraries on campus. They even managed to rope him into helping them sometimes, as he is undoubtedly the more experienced with actual magic of them, though he doubts today will be one of those times, as a trio of middle-aged women enters the store right then, loudly talking about their digestive problems.

He steels himself for a long conversation on the virtues of the herbs on display and is reminded of Hinata’s remarks the day before. As unpleasant as he finds being forced to be polite and helpful and nod and answer all their inane questions, he can’t help but smile at the memory, and has to resist the urge to throw a glance to where the door is slightly ajar.

It’s a small but uninterrupted trickle of customers until it’s time to close for the day. He barely has time to sit down, in between the kid who wants magical cards “like on TV!” and the elderly couple who makes him dig into his reserve for an old-style carved stone against unwanted visitors. He has no idea if it even still works, and the magic when he activates it is barely a whisper, but they take it anyway, obviously willing to try anything to have their peace. He understands.

He is relieved nonetheless when he can finally turn the sign to indicate he’s closed, though he still have his plants to water and his friends to make leave. He’s heard a few yells coming from the room when he was occupied in the store, but it was nothing unusual, considering both Kageyama and Hinata were there.

The plants are quickly taken care of, and he plucks a few dried leaves away, noting with satisfaction that they all seem in good health. They were the part he’d been the least sure about, even though his grandmother had insisted that fresh products were essential, but he hasn’t killed a single one since he’s started.

“Tsukki? Are you done?” Yamaguchi calls from the other side of the store.

“In a minute,” he answers, rearranging the displays.

He hasn’t really finished, and Yamaguchi knows it, but he always takes a break before the last part of the day.

Working in a magic store implies magic objects, and the currents emanating from them or manipulated by them tended to clash, sometimes making things malfunction. There was no quick fix for that, only patient maintaining and restoring of a configuration that reduced the conflicts, and it could take very long, since he needed to be careful. He remembered a few incidents from when he was a kid and it was his grandmother’s father manning the store. One of the most harmless had put the entire area out of electricity for two days, until they’d had to make an expert come in, to his great-grandfather’s frustration.

But he always reserves that part for the end of the day, because it is his favorite, and a good way to let go of all the day’s frustrations.

He joins his friends in the back room. It’s well lit, by actual lamps that function with a battery that he can recharge with a flick of his wrist. Though the textbooks littering the table are proof that they actually studied, they’re mostly killing time on their phones or, in Yachi’s case, drawing. They all look up when he comes in.

“Ready to go back to your home and stop bothering me?” Tsukishima asks, though he doesn’t make a move to push them out.

“Shhhh, we know you love us,” Hinata says.

He reaches to pat Tsukishima, but stays focused on whatever game he’s playing and misses by half a meter. Tsukishima’s eyebrows rise higher and higher as he watches Hinata’s hand flail around, looking for his. It’s Yachi’s giggle that make Hinata look up.

“What perfect aim,” Yamaguchi smiles.

“Good thing we didn’t let you practice anything,” Tsukishima notes dryly. “You would have burned everything to the ground.”

“It wasn’t even a fire spell,” Hinata protests.

“And yet I have faith in your ability to turn it into total destruction.”

“Be nicer to me,” Hinata pouts exaggeratedly. “Shouldn’t you show me love and affection?”

“He didn’t let you burn everything down, I say that counts,” Kageyama chimes in, face as straight as always.

“Why are you all so focused on me burning things?”

“Because it’s bound to happen,” Yachi sighs, pushing away her notebook.

They don’t have the time to see what she’s been working on before she closes it. She crosses her arms, in a rare show of dissatisfaction. They stay like this, sitting in silence for a minute, catching their breath before having to go out again.

Tsukishima has no idea when his back room turned into this little corner of the world reserved for them, but he doesn’t think he hates it. He’s come to associate it with a feeling of safety, of comfortable familiarity. They’ve all known each other for so long, there’s little any one of them could do to mess it up.

He wonders if what he’s doing with Hinata counts. He lets his eyes wander over to where Kageyama is. To an outsider’s eye, it would have looked like his usual resting face, but Tsukishima’s pretty sure Kageyama is sulking. Which wouldn’t be really alarming in any other setting, but since he’s started managing the store, and even before, this had always been a place where they could forget about the rest of the world, for a moment.

He doesn’t want to ask. He suspects he knows what’s bothering him anyway.

“We should probably go,” Yamaguchi speaks up, breaking the quiet.

“ I don’t want to  _ move _ ,” Hinata whines, throwing his head back.

Kageyama gets up without a word and manhandles him into a standing position, rolling his eyes at Hinata’s protests.

“I’ll see you later,” Yamaguchi tells Tsukishima. “We’ve got yesterday’s leftovers, so I’ll heat them up.”

Tsukishima nods and gets up too. It’s only when Hinata is coming up to him that he realizes Yachi is still sitting, fiddling with her fingers and looking at him. She startles when their eyes cross.

“Can I stay for a bit?” she asks. “I need to finish a few things,” she adds, gesturing at her notebook, “and I can’t do it at the dorms, it’s too noisy.”

“Sure,” Tsukishima accepts – it doesn’t really make a difference for him.

“Want us to save you anything?” Hinata asks.

Yachi shakes her head, but she gets up and escorts them to the door with Tsukishima. It’s already dark outside, though you can still see the sun sinking down behind the buildings. They say their goodbyes and start to leave when Hinata abruptly turns back and saunters to him, tugging him down.

“See you tomorrow!” he exclaims, standing just all enough to plant a firm kiss on his cheek.

Tsukishima hopes his face isn’t as flaming red as it feels hot, but has little hope.

“Good night,” he stutters as Hinata lets go and joins Yamaguchi and Kageyama.

Tsukishima looks at him until he’s with them, and can’t help but sneak a glance at Kageyama. His brow is furrowed, and he’s looking back and forth at Hinata and him. Tsukishima raises his eyebrow in a silent question, and Kageyama looks away.

Well. At least it’s working. They’re definitely getting a reaction out of him, even if he’s slow to get to the realization part.

He steps back inside with Yachi, who immediately goes back to her chair and opens her notebook. Tsukishima lets her and steps in the large space behind the counter, sits on his chair, and closes his eyes.

There’s another reason he prefers to do this when the day is over and everyone is gone, or quiet. There are different ways to perceive the magic currents flowing around, to be able to know where they are, how powerful, how large. Most people are able to feel it through touch, and he is no exception, using his hands to manipulate it when he can. But a majority of experimented magic users, of people who’d practiced it for long enough, developed another way to sense it. Some are impossible to describe, so personal and intimate that they couldn’t be explained, but Tsukishima’s is simple.

Magic is a sound to him. Or, more accurately, a multitude of sounds and noises and songs, buzzing around him in melodious harmonies or terrible cacophonies. He’s able to ignore it when he needs to, but he likes to open to it and listen.

He lets himself be guided by the music. He knows some of the tunes by heart, coming from the walls and the furniture, from some objects that have been here so long they meld perfectly with the other songs. There’s a quiet and fragile melody coming from one of the books he’s placed high on the shelves, making its way into the room to fill it. There’s a more aggressive music rising from under him, the sound of feet on the ground to a rhythm he’s been able to hear since he was a child. There’s a quiet hum floating around the rows of plants, clear and soothing.

There are other noises, unpleasant, clashes of different currents, and he hears them immediately, knows exactly what flows are colliding. He gets there with his eyes still closed. He’s done this a thousand times, now, he knows his way around his shop.

He moves some objects, only has to brush others before their songs calm down, and he has to get to every single little dissonance in the room before he opens his eyes. It’s dark, and he realizes he had forgotten to turn on the lamps before starting. He sighs and goes to the one on the counter, turning it on by activating the spell running in lines on its base. It lights up enough that he can see where he’s going, and he checks around one last time before going to the back room.

Yachi is still there, so focused on her drawing that she doesn’t hear him come in. He catches sight of a picture taking up the whole space of the once blank pages, a portrait of a girl with short brown hair. She looks vaguely familiar, but he can’t place her.

“Who’s that?” he asks when Yachi’s pen leaves the page, hovering in the air as she seems to think.

She startles at the sound of his voice and almost topples out of her chair.

“Nobody!” she replies quickly. “Well. Just a friend.”

He could easily find out the truth – though he can try a solid guess – but she looks on the verge of panicking, and he’s too tired to deal with a stressed out Yachi. He shrugs and she closes the notebook.

“I’m closing for the night,” he says instead.

“All right, give me two minutes.”

He nods and gets back in the main room to get his own things. She’s quick to join him, turning the lamps off behind her, and he does the same to the one he’d turned on earlier, the light blown away as easily as it had been called.

He closes the door behind them, and they begin their walk in silence, sharing his earphones.

* * *

Hinata is bouncing around on the way back, almost nervously so. Yamaguchi parts ways with them a few minutes before they reach the dorms, going in the direction of the apartment he shares with Tsukishima. Hinata idly wonders what it’s like to live with him, not for the first time. Hinata can’t imagine that it’s really pleasant, if you take into account that Tsukishima’s worse when tired, but then again, he’s dating the guy, so maybe he doesn’t really have room to judge. Well, fake-dating.

Kageyama seems closed off for most of the walk back, and he doesn’t feel brave enough to ask what’s bothering him. He’s pretty sure he wouldn’t get the answer he wants anyway. He’s not even certain he’s having the effect he wants, and he makes a mental note to ask Tsukishima. He’s always been the best at reading people, though it’s the kind of skill he usually applies to find out what makes people tick, and then use _that_ to annoy them.

They soon arrive to the dorm and leave their shoes in the entrance. The minute they push the door, they’re assaulted by laughs and yells, and maybe music, drowned out by the rest. They exchange a perplex look right before someone runs to them and practically crashes into them.

“Hey, finally!” Nishinoya exclaims in Kageyama’s ear. “We were wondering if you were lost!”

He laughs at his own joke and throws his arms around their shoulders, ignoring entirely Kageyama’s attempts to escape. He turns to Hinata with a smile so excited it’s scary.

“By the way, I heard you got a boyfriend. Congratulations!” he says, holding up his hand for a high five.

“I didn’t know people knew,” Hinata replies after complying.

“Everyone knows,” Nishinoya shrugs. “I think Suga saw you, or maybe Yachi told Kiyoko, or something. Point is,” he jabs Hinata in the side, “you have to celebrate! Even if I’m hurt you didn’t tell us in person!”

“I just didn’t get the occasion,” Hinata tries to smile.

He avoids Nishinoya’s focused gaze only to meet Kageyama’s. They stay like this for a handful of seconds, eyes locked, and Hinata hopes as hard as he can that his friends are right, that _Tsukishima_ was right, that Kageyama really likes him and will finally show a sign of it. But instead, Kageyama turns away and lets himself be pushed into the common room by Nishinoya too.

When he hears the first congratulations of his friends, he starts to regret accepting Tsukishima’s offer a little. It feels a bit wrong, to deceive everyone like this. But a glance to Kageyama, taking advantage of the focus being on him to avoid the crowd, strengthens his resolve, and he puts on his best smile to face Suga and Kuroo in front of him.

* * *

Kageyama slides away from everyone, relieved when he reaches the other side of the room, between the stairs and the kitchen corner. Kenma is sitting on the lowest step, lost in his game, and everyone else is off to get a turn at Mario Kart or to talk to Hinata. He can see him talking excitedly to Kuroo, then frowning at something Tanaka said, and he imagines they’re talking about Tsukishima. There’s a sour taste in his mouth and he looks down to the sink in front of him.

He grabs a glass off the drying rack and pours water in it, hoping it will help, but it feels more like he’s getting sick. He hasn’t been able to shake off the uncomfortable feeling in his guts for a day now, and so his main preoccupations are whether or not this will pass soon, homework, and the fact that Hinata is dating Tsukishima.

He doesn’t have anything against it, technically, he tells himself for the thousand time as he turns the water off. Tsukishima may be an asshole, but they’re friends, and sure, he was one hundred percent sincere when he told him that he would find a way to exact a terrible vengeance on him if he hurt Hinata, but he doubts Tsukishima would do so on purpose. Or at least not without a good reason.

So he’s fine with it. It’s just taking some time to adjust.

“Kageyama?” someone calls, tearing him away from his reflection.

“Daichi,” Kageyama greets him.

He waits to see what the other wants to tell him, but it takes a few seconds before Daichi seems to find the words. He’s looking at him curiously, the worried lines permanently etched around his eyes even more prominent.

“Are you okay?” he finally asks.

“I feel a little sick,” Kageyama admits, “but it will probably pass. Why? Do I look bad?”

“No, it’s not-” Daichi stops and sighs, putting a firm hand on Kageyama’s shoulder. “I was thinking more on an emotional level? Are you all right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kageyama answers.

Daichi gives him a long-suffering look. Kageyama isn’t an idiot – he knows why Daichi’s asking. But he’s made his peace with his own feelings long ago, so really, he should be all right. Daichi sighs again and pats him on the shoulder before letting his hand fall down.

“If you don’t know, then no reason, I guess,” he says, smiling at him. “I’ll leave you alone now.”

And just like that he leaves, joining Kiyoko who’s waiting for him, sitting with Kenma. They whisper back and forth for a minute, and Kiyoko looks at him over Daichi’s shoulder, but before Kageyama can even try to guess what they’re saying, they get up and join everyone else, now engaged in a vicious game of Twister. Hinata has already lost and is sitting on the sidelines, trying to tickle anyone he can reach. He keeps throwing his head back to laugh, especially when someone falls, and the sound is one of the most comforting Kageyama knows.

He decides to call it an early night and heads to his room, glass still full in his hand.

* * *

Hinata shows up on Saturday afternoon just on time. Tsukishima”s waiting for him on a bench, engrossed in a book and earphones on. He takes a few second to catch his breath, having run most of the way after leaving the dorm way too late, and then walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder. Tsukishima hums in acknowledgment and closes his book after a few seconds, looking up at him.

“Hey!” Hinata smiles. “Sorry for making you wait.”

“You made an effort,” Tsukishima notes after glancing at the time on his phone. “I expected you to be there in half an hour.”

“And you showed up early anyway,” Hinata grins. “Are you so impatient to see me?”

“I just have a better concept of punctuality than you,” Tsukishima retorts, getting up.

“If you say so,” Hinata replies, still smiling.

He knows it never fails to get a reaction out of Tsukishima, and this time again his friend rolls his eyes, though there’s a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“We should hold hands, in case we run into people we know,” Hinata declares, holding out his right hand.

“You know not every couple spends their time attached to each other, right?” Tukishima says warily.

Hinata blinks, surprised at the rebuttal.

“Most new couples do, but it’s okay if you don’t want to,” he assures, letting his hand drop.

“Hinata, if we meet anyone we know, they won’t be surprised that I’m _not_ holding your hand every second,” Tsukishima observes, rather truthfully.

Hinata shrugs and starts to walk toward their date destination. Tsukishima stays next to him, close enough that their arms brush sometimes, but hands in his pockets.

“I hope for you you were right about nobody being there,” Tsukishima says dryly as they approach the aquarium.

“There’s a circus, every parent will take their kids there,” Hinata assures him, digging out his wallet. “And it’s not tourist season.”

“Good thing.”

“You’re able to be nice to your clients, you’d be able to not obliterate every tourist on your path.”

“I don’t get a salary for being polite to the out-of-water fishes.”

Hinata pauses, confused, and turns his head toward Tsukishima. They’re almost at the entrance, illuminated by a blue light that gives him a strangely eerie look.

“They always agglutinate in front of the tanks and block everyone. Like the fish, who they apparently share the amount of brain cells with,” Tsukishima explains, reaching for his wallet too.

“Don’t do that, I’m paying,” Hinata says, smacking Tsukishima’s hand away absently.

“No you’re not.”

“I’m taking you on a date, that’s what I’m supposed to do!”

“Did you miss the part where it’s not real?”

Hinata stops in his tracks. They’re just inside, and the blue light is faint and dim. He can’t really make out what face Tsukishima is making, but the way he said it sounded strange, in a nuance Hinata can’t quite place.

“Take it as a thanks for helping me out, then,” he says after a short silence.

Tsukishima doesn’t reply immediately either, and Hinata could swear he feels his eyes on him.

“If you insist.”

“Yes, now let’s go!”

He takes Tsukishima’s wrist and drags him behind him to the desk, feels more than he sees Tsukishima rolling his eyes when he declares loudly that he’s paying for both of them. He gets the tickets and shoves them in his pocket without looking, and doesn’t let go of Tsukishima as he starts the visit.

He was right, there aren’t a lot of people there. There are four or five persons at most with them at the same time, and in the dark of the hallways only lit by the tanks they’re circling around, it still feels intimate enough that he can feel Tsukishima relax next to him. He released his wrist when they’d reached the first aquarium, full of beautifully colored tropical fishes, but Tsukishima hasn’t shoved his hand in his pocket again, and is instead pointing at a seal and snorting.

“This one looks exactly like you.”

“You think?” Hinata says, cocking his head as he tries to see the resemblance.

The seal is swimming in circles, passing in front of them for the fourth time, and almost crashes into another, too busy twirling.

“Definitely,” Tsukishima says. “Reminds me of you in the morning.”

“You never see me in the mornings,” Hinata counters.

“Not anymore, but don’t think I’ve forgotten all the times you ran into the walls instead of the door,” Tsukishima smiles. “I think I still have videos somewhere.”

“You’re one to talk, you’re barely functional when you get up,” Hinata retorts, leaving the seals for the next tank.

“At least I don’t trip on my own feet.”

“No, you just bite people.”

“You seem to think I’m a really violent person.”

“Because you keep hitting me!”

“I used to,” Tsukishima shrugs, obviously not feeling guilty. “Now I let Kageyama handle the chore of keeping you in line. Not that he’s very good at that himself.”

Hinata tries to kick him in the shin, but Tsukishima sees it coming and avoids him easily. They walk in silence until they reach the end of the corridor, and Tsukishima pushes the door. They’re both blinded by the light from the outside and it takes Hinata a moment to adjust. The sky is cloudless and the sun bright, and most of the visitors have elected to enjoy it, just like the otters they’re excitedly pointing at. Tsukishima immediately frowns, annoyed.

“You really hate people, huh,” Hinata muses, almost to himself.

“I don’t particularly enjoy loud crowds, especially when there’s already one with me right here,” Tsukishima sighs.

“You like me anyway,” Hinata reminds him, unaffected by the mockery.

He’s gotten used to Tsukishima’s way of communicating, which consists mainly of insults and jabs on most days, but are now almost affectionate and stripped of all their bite. He’s been saying the same things since they were fifteen, and kept hanging out with them anyway, so Hinata figured long ago that though he _did_ mean a lot of them, he wasn’t as bothered as he pretended.

“For some reason, I still tolerate your presence, yes,” Tsukishima agrees with a smirk. “Must be that charming personality of yours. Or your immense talent.”

“Oh! I never got to show you what I learned to do the other day!” Hinata remembers.

Tsukishima looks alarmed, but then again, he looks alarmed whenever Hinata suggests as much as going to eat in a place he doesn’t know.

“Here? Now?” he asks with a frown.

“Yeah, yeah, I trained again and I can control it now, don’t listen to what Kageyama says about it,” Hinata wave vaguely. “We should sit, though.”

“Why, you think you’re going to blow me away with your power?” Tsukishima snorts, moving along nonetheless.

“You don’t have to be mean about it, I know you’re better than me for now,” Hinata protests. “But I need to concentrate, so stop being an ass and wait.”

Tsukishima opens his mouth to throw another remark, but Hinata holds his finger an inch away from his face and it surprises Tsukishima enough that he shuts up. They both sit on a low wall that separates the trail in two, with no one in sight, although they can still hear the yells of the otter enthusiasts.

“Let me focus,” he orders, closing his eyes.

It’s a spell that requires control, which is much closer to Tsukishima’s specialty than his own. He finds it hard, usually, to limit his magic, to bend it within the acceptable limits only, much more comfortable in big explosions of power. He has to take it slow, to retrace the steps his teachers and his friends have walked him through until he mastered them, but soon he feels the magic currents around him whirl in his palm, confined to the barrier of his fingers. When he opens his eyes, he can almost _see_ them coming together to form the small storm brewing in his hand.

He averts his gaze for a moment, glancing at Tsukishima. He’s looking at the clouds and rain and lightning striking in his hand, and even almost touches it, his hand hovering just above his to feel the wind.

“I had no idea you were even able to do that,” he admits, his voice unusually sincere.

“Isn’t it great?” Hinata smiles, wriggling his fingers.

“I’m glad we didn’t let you do that in the store, though,” Tsukishima can’t help but smirk. “I would have kicked you out.”

“I can control it, don’t listen to what the others say,” Hinata frowns.

He raises his hand higher, between their faces, and wriggles his fingers again to prove he’s saying the truth, and behind them, illuminated by the lightning, Tsukishima is smiling. Not his usual twist of lips thrown in with his retorts, not even the self-satisfied air he gets whenever he gets proven right, but a real smile. Hinata almost feels like he’s intruding, and suddenly their eyes meet and he has trouble breathing.

He feels his control snap, almost sees the furious current in his palm explode, and only has a second to send it up before it’s too much.

The sky opens and next thing he knows it’s pouring on the aquarium, a torrential rainstorm growling loudly in the clouds.

“Fuck!” he yells, barely able to hear himself above the downpour.

Tsukishima is saying something too, but he can only hear the raindrops violently hitting the floor and the thunder behind it. He tries to protect his face but the wind is even more violent than the one he’d created in his palm. He’s wondering what to do when a hand suddenly grabs his and pulls him along, until they reach the door they’d just passed and take shelter in the slight overhand above it. The storm is still howling, but at least they can see and hear each other now.

“Control it, huh?” Tsukishima repeats.

His tone is the driest thing about him. His hair is dripping on his face and his shoulders, and he’s shrugging off his drenched jacket.

“Sorry,” Hinata mumbles, trying not to let his teeth chatter.

A few seconds pass as Tsukishima twists his jacket to get the water out of it, and Hinata tries to hug himself, desperate for warmth. There is no knob on the door, so their only hope of getting out of the way of the storm he let escape from his hands is to hope someone will open it from the inside.

“F-fuck,” he repeats when he realizes his hands are shaking, accompanied by a thunderclap.

Tsukishima looks up from his jacket at the sound and frowns even harder. He approaches one hand and Hinata flinches, so slightly that he’s not even sure if it’s a reaction to Tsukishima or the cold seeping into him. Tsukishima stops, his face carefully neutral.

“Think you can open the door?” Hinata asks between two shivers.

“It’s made so you can’t push it from the outside,” Tsukishima answers, his hand still between them.

“Shit.”

There’s another silence – relative silence, as the rain is still falling hard, and another lightning strikes right then. Hinata is freezing, debating whether or not he should try to take his shirt off in the hopes he might feel less cold. He curses again under his breath as he looks at the clouds, knowing it’s his fault. And now he’s ruined the date, and probably Tsukishima’s day, too, when he wanted this to be a way to thank him for helping him out. He glances at his friend, expecting him to be closed off and pissed.

Tsukishima is looking at him, crossing his arms. Hinata prepares for a biting remark, but nothing comes and the moment stretches. At least he seems to feel less cold than him, and his shirt looks only a bit damp around the collar and the front, unprotected by his jacket. He also seems to _be_ frozen, eyes fixed on Hinata.

“What?” he finally asks, maybe a bit more abruptly than he wanted.

“Come here,” Tsukishima sighs with an imperious gesture of his right hand.

Hinata raises his eyebrows, but figures Tsukishima can’t really make it a lot worse, and he takes the two steps that were between them, punctuated by a roll of thunder. Tsukishima’s hand on his face feels odd, unfamiliar, but soon its warmth seems to flow in his veins, and he closes his eyes and lets a relieved sigh escape his lips.

“I feel like I’m touching an ice cube,” Tsukishima mutters.

“I feel like I _am_ an ice cube,” Hinata counters, shaking a lot less.

“Wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t let the spell escape you.”

“I know, all right? I don’t know what happened,” Hinata says, opening his eyes.

He finds Tsukishima’s once again, and he knows time doesn’t stop, because he can still hear the rain and the lightning illuminates his face, but they’ve rarely been this close, and it makes something in his stomach tighten. He slowly lets his hands fall as he feels warmer and warmer, and the sensation of wet clothes against his skin is unpleasant, but it’s a lot better.

“How do you do that?” he asks, barely above a whisper.

“It’s easy,” Tsukishima hums in answer.

“Everything is easy for you.”

Tsukishima smiles at that, not his genuine smile again, but it’s better than nothing.

“I just have more practice at it.”

“So you think I might be able to do the same if I keep working? Not right now, obviously,” he adds with a large gesture encompassing the storm around them, “but at some point?”

Tsukishima’s smile drops off his face and though his hand doesn’t leave Hinata’s cheek, he feels the spell stop. Hinata looks for an answer in his face, but it’s neutral and closed, expressions that he’s always seen on Tsukishima and rarely been able to breach.

“Maybe,” Tsukishima says after a few beats, letting his hand fall at his side.

They’re standing inches apart, but the atmosphere is suddenly charged and it surprises Hinata. He usually just charges on with a smile and nice words, but it’s never been extremely efficient with Tsukishima, and he has no idea how to read the mood.

The door opens behind them and they both jump, startled.

“Come in!” a woman says, gesturing for them to follow her. “Don’t stand in the rain like this!”

They exchange a look and turn, but just as they start walking, Tsukishima bends down.

“Try not to look too suspicious,” he murmurs.

“Shut up,” Hinata replies, trying to elbow him in the sides.

“Something provoked a storm right on us,” the woman explains, and they realize she’s wearing a staff badge. “We’re trying to find what happened, and I can tell you that the wannabe weather wizard who fucked up like this is going to get an earful, but we’re closing for the rest of the day, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Tsukishima says, giving a pointed look to Hinata.

He gets away with sticking his tongue at him because when Tsukishima wants to retaliate, the woman turns to them.

“The exit is this way,” she show the first room they had gone through. “I have to go see if there’s anybody else left, so I’ll let you leave.”

“Sor-” Hinata starts, a reflex ingrained in him by years of learning good manners. Tsukishima grasps his shoulder, just a bit too tight.

“Good luck,” he says with a bright fake smile, ushering Hinata toward the door.

The woman salutes them and storms off in another direction. They’re alone again, most of the others visitors having probably been evacuated before them.

“Don’t tell them it’s you, idiot,” Tsukishima seethes.

“I wasn’t going to,” Hinata protests.

“You were going to apologize and get caught, and then we’d have had to stay here, and I want to go home, okay,” Tsukishima rants.

They find themselves outside and facing the rain again. It’s pouring everywhere around them, though at least the thunderstorm seems to be further away now.

“Do you have an umbrella?”

“Why would I need an umbrella on a day literally every weather channel said would be sunny and cloudless?” Tsukishima replies with a eyeroll.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Hinata sighs, ruffling his own damp hair.

He’s starting to feel cold again, but is determined not to let it show, even as his teeth start to chatter again. Tsukishima glances at him and makes some kind of exasperated huff before holding out his hand. Hinata looks at it in confusion, then at Tsukishima.

“You’re cold again,” he states, as if that explains it.

It doesn’t, but Hinata takes his hand, and Tsukishima uses the same spell he had minutes ago. Hinata feels himself almost melt at the pleasant warmth flowing through his body all of a sudden.

“There’s a bus stop right there,” Hinata points at a sign a few meters away from the entrance. “Let’s go!”

“We don’t even know if it goes our way!” Tsukishima reminds him.

“Well at least we won’t have to walk in the rain!”

“Do I need to remind you the rain is entirely your fault?”

“Shut up and come with me!”

Hinata doesn’t wait for an answer this time and runs across the open space, pulling Tsukishima with him by the hand. The rain has the time to soak them even more, but when they get under the tiny bus stop, at least they’re sheltered. Tsukishima gives him a murderous look before turning to the plan fixed inside the stop.

“We’re lucky, it’s the one going more or less toward campus,” Tsukishima declares. “Next one should be here in five minutes. Unless it got into an accident because of the storm.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Hinata mumbles.  


They haven’t stopped holding hands. They’re awfully close, huddled together as they wait for the bus to show up, and if this was any other day, Hinata would try to stand as still as he can, hoping not to turn Tsukishima’s probably bad mood into an even fouler one, but something feels out of place.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” he asks.

He turns toward Tsukishima just in time to see his eyes widen alarmingly.

“Nice?” he repeats.

“Yeah, like, helping me warm up. Twice,” he points out, squeezing his hand. “I thought you’d just let me freeze to death.”

“You wouldn’t freeze to death, idiot,” Tsukishima sighs.

Hinata waits a few seconds, but he doesn’t say anything else.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Can’t you just accept that I’m not a dick twenty-four hours a day?”

Tsukishima still isn’t looking at him, but Hinata feels his fingers tighten around his, just a bit.

“But you try so hard to make us forget your soft side,” Hinata can’t help but tease. “It’s a shame.”

“Truly. Everyone will expect me to go braid pony’s hair and make flower crowns with them now,” Tsukishima deadpans.

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

Tsukishima finally looks at him, a furtive glance followed by a small smile. Hinata wonders if he knows he can see it.

“Deal.”

They keep holding hands until the bus arrives.


	2. Chapter 2

Yachi comes into the common area and lets her bag slide to the ground as she sits next to Kageyama. He and Yamaguchi look up with a frown.

“Weren’t you supposed to be at the store?” Yamaguchi asks.

“I left Hinata and Tsukishima alone,” she explains, pulling out the content of her bag. “They don’t really get a lot of time together alone, so I thought they’d appreciate it. They’re kind of cute together,” she adds with an amused smile. “I never thought I’d see Tsukishima like this.”

Yamaguchi makes an odd face at that, but Kageyama doesn’t have the time to read it before it’s gone, replaced by the same smile as Yachi.

“I know, it’s kind of funny.”

Kageyama doesn’t say anything and feigns to go back to his homework, but he can’t seem to focus, reading the same line over and over without visualizing the figure it’s describing.

Tsukishima and Hinata, cute together. Now that’s an image his brain seems to have no trouble conjuring, and he can almost see Hinata throwing his head back in a laugh as Tsukishima smiles smugly. In his head, Hinata is perched on Tsukishima’s chair, watching him as he works with clients and starting to talk the minute they’ve stepped out. He can see Hinata smiling at Tsukishima, not with adoration, maybe, they know each other too well for that, but with affection. And he can see Tsukishima reciprocating, in his own way, like he has for the past few days when they’ve been together, his smile not as bright as Hinata’s but there.

Kageyama closes his eyes and shakes his head, but the image is burned inside his eyelids and he grits his teeth. In theory, he should be glad that they’re both happy with each other, as unlikely as it would have seemed two weeks ago, but – but he isn’t.

“Kageyama? Are you all right?”

Yachi’s voice forces him to open his eyes. She’s looking at him with an almost worried expression, and really, he didn’t need to feel guilty for this too.

“He’s been sulking for a week,” Kuroo throws in as he passes them, intruding into the conversation.

“And bringing the atmosphere down,” Suga agrees next to him, no more respectful of their privacy. “It’s getting annoying.”

“Now, now, don’t be too harsh with him,” Kuroo smiles. “It’s the teenager experience, I’m sure it will pass.”

“You literally told me half an hour ago that you didn’t want to come here alone because you were scared of his death glare,” Suga reminds him, looking unimpressed.

Kuroo splutters some kind of denial, but it doesn’t really matter. Kageyama hadn’t noticed his bad mood had been so obvious.

“Honestly, go take a walk or something, you’ll feel better,” Suga sighs. “Tanaka and Nishinoya are planning something to make you smile, so if I were you, I’d rather not stay here anyway.”

While that was entirely possible, Kageyama knew when he was gently dismissed. He bit back a retort, knowing he wouldn’t win in any kind of battle against Suga, but especially one with words.

“We’ll go with you,” Yamaguchi offers, and Yachi nods in agreement.

“Thanks,” Kageyama mumbles.

They clean up the table under Suga and Kuroo’s watchful eyes, with maybe a little more force thrown into putting his things away on Kageyama’s end.

“And don’t come back until you’ve worked your feelings out!” Kuroo calls after him when they head towards the door.

Kageyama refuses to look back, and soon they’re outside. Autumn is making its coming obvious with gray clouds and a light but persistent breeze, and Kageyama let his head sink between his shoulders.

“We could go back to Tsukishima’s shop,” Yachi proposes.

“No,” Kageyama says almost immediately.

He’d say he’s surprised that it got out so fast, but he’s starting to suspect he won’t be able to get over Hinata and Tsukishima being together so easily. Yamaguchi and Yachi exchange a look, then Yamaguchi sighs.

“Is there something you want to talk about?”

“Not really, no.”

“Let me rephrase: is there something that’s been bothering you for a week that you haven’t talked about to anybody yet?” Yamaguchi asks.

Yachi looks a little lost, then her mouth makes a perfect ‘o’ and she turns to Kageyama too, almost eager to hear him. He would try to deny, but Yamaguchi would probably insist.

“Maybe,” he says instead, trying to salvage a bit of his dignity.

He doesn’t _want_ to talk about it. It’s stupid, and selfish, and he should _get over it_.

“Does it happen to have anything to do with Hinata?” Yachi asks softly.

He wants to bury his face in his jacket and never have to look at them again. His silence is enough of an answer, apparently, because Yamaguchi sighs again, and he’d act offended if he didn’t want to do the same.

“You like him,” Yamaguchi states, matter-of-factly.

“Who?” Kageyama says, trying to buy himself some time.

“Hinata.”

“We all know,” Yachi adds, not unkindly. “It’s not like it isn’t obvious.”

Kageyama almost chokes at that, and he stops walking to be able to fully stare in horror at her.

“What do you mean, obvious?” he asks in a high-pitched voice.

It’s Yachi’s turn to stare wide eyed at him, and he can hear Yamaguchi sigh _again_ behind him.

“That… everyone knows?” she whispers.

“And was waiting for you to make a move,” Yamaguchi adds.

Kageyama feels half of his brain just give up, float to a mental beach full of sand and bury itself in it, just so it can ignore the world, and especially what he just heard. Unfortunately, the other half of his brain is processing it.

“Everyone?” he repeats.

“Us. The whole dorm. Probably our entire class, too,” Yachi points out. “And, uh. Probably Hinata too,” she winces.

The processing of things come to a screeching halt.

“I need to sit down,” he hears himself say.

They walk up to a park nearby in tense silence. Kageyama is pretty sure Yamaguchi and Yachi are exchanging looks and wild gestures behind his back, but he can’t find it in himself to care, too preoccupied.

He just spent half a decade crushing on his best friend and everyone has known for the entire time?

“I’d say more like, two or three years,” Yamaguchi supplies thoughtfully.

“Definitely at least two,” Yachi agrees. “I remember walking in on you two at lunch one day, and you were looking at him like he was… you know, you looked exactly like you did when you first managed to do a spell entirely from memory.”

She says it with so much conviction that Kageyama has to look away. He remembers that day well – the day of the spell, obviously. Some were easy, wordless, like lighting a lamp or heating water, but those that got put into incantations required more mental gymnastics. He was good at it, at following the directions, and he’d been so proud of himself for doing one of them without the guidance of the formula. And he knows what he looked like, smile and delighted expression ingrained in his memory, because Yamaguchi had been on one of those photos kick he would get occasionally and captured a shot of that moment – that he had tried to develop into a moving picture, afterward, which had mostly been a disaster.

He can’t quite imagine himself looking at anybody like that, but if it happened, it would definitely have been at Hinata.

“I’m in love with Hinata,” he says out loud, for the first time. “And everybody knew.”

“ Not  _ everybody _ , but close,” Yamaguchi nods.

“And he’s with Tsukishima now.”

This one is followed by uncomfortable silence.

“I’m such an idiot,” he whispers. “I’m so stupid. I completely missed it.”

Yachi pats him on the back sympathetically, but doesn’t disagree. He’s starting to think that burying his head in the figurative sand doesn’t sound so bad, after all. He can forget about this and act as if everything’s right. He doesn’t have many other choices.

He swears again and rubs his eyes. There’s an emptiness growing in his stomach, devouring his heart, and it hurts. He’s in love with Hinata and he can never, ever be with him, now.

“You should tell him,” Yamaguchi declares.

Both Kageyama and Yachi turn to look at him in confusion. He stares back and raises his eyebrows.

“What?”

“You want him to confess while Hinata and Tsukishima are together?” Yachi asks, trying to make sense of it.

“Yeah.”

“What the hell?”

They rarely hear Yachi swear, but Kageyama feels like this is an appropriate occasion. If his mouth wasn’t gaping open, he would probably follow her example.

“Look, I know it sounds like a terrible idea,” Yamaguchi amends, “but for reasons I can’t talk about, I can assure you it would be better. He likes you a lot too. Plus, I really hope you weren’t planning on just never saying anything,” he says to Kageyama, “because that’s just really stupid.”

“I’m not going to confess to Hinata and put him in a position where he feels like he has to choose,” Kageyama counters, almost angry. “I’m not doing that to him.”

Yamaguchi pinches the bridge of his nose like Kageyama is testing him.

“Listen. Even forgetting the things I can’t tell you about-”

“What are they? Is something wrong between them?” Yachi questions.

“Not… exactly,” Yamaguchi hesitates. “But even forgetting that, you should tell him, for yourself. Either he likes you back, and everything is fine, or he doesn’t, and you get closure.”

“I don’t think closure is going to happen just like that,” Kageyama snorts.

“Fine, a start of it then,” Yamaguchi concedes, throwing his arms up in the air. “The point is, you should tell him.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Stop that,” Yachi interrupts.

They both obey, but not before making faces at each other.

“But why do you insist so much?” she says, turning her worried frown toward Yamaguchi.

“I told you, I can’t say,” he replies.

“That’s not good enough,” Kageyama cuts short, standing up.

“Where are you going?” Yachi calls behind him.

He has no idea. Not the dorm, not the store, not anywhere he might see someone who would want to talk to him. He chooses a random street and takes it, ignoring the way his eyes are burning.

* * *

Hinata watches as Tsukishima sends Akaashi on his way with a heavy tome about necromancy. He’d skimmed it as the two were catching up and closed it just as soon. He knows Akaashi studies pretty gloomy stuff, Kuroo tends to complain about it, but he hadn’t really understood until now. Some of the pictures would be nightmare material for weeks.

“I don’t understand how he can study that,” he tells Tsukishima when the walk to the back room again.

“It’s interesting,” Tsukishima answers. “There’s always the question of what happens when we die, or the existence of a soul, and necromancy offers a new angle on it. I doubt you’d understand it, though,” he adds with a smirk.

“I’m plenty smart, thank you,” Hinata replies, taking his seat again.

“Details have never been your thing,” Tsukishima states.

“That’s what I’m trying to get better at right now,” Hinata points out.

“True.”

Tsukishima sits next to him and seems to think for a moment, tapping the long chalk in his hand against the table.

“Okay, let’s try the rock again,” he sighs, drawing a large circle and adorning it with symbols of familiar shapes. He places a pebble in the middle of it, then gesture for Hinata to come closer. “You have to break it slowly, not make it explode,” he explains again. “Your sensory conduct is sight, so try to visualize the currents around it first.”

Hinata closes his eyes and exhales. He’s aware of Tsukishima’s presence next to him, almost against him, but he can’t let it distract him. He opens them again and focuses, and soon, flickers of colored fumes appear in front of him, swirling together, some a lot more vivid than others. It’s strange, to see the magic imprint of things and still see said things in the physical world, both visions entirely separated and still somehow coexisting before his eyes.

“I got it,” he tells Tsukishima.

“Good. Focus on the rock.”

Hinata tries to select what he sees, forget the other currents around him to only see the one tied to the pebble, sitting innocently on the table.

“And now,” Tsukishima continues, his voice so low that it barely seems to breach the calm around them, “try to push it out, but not all at once. Just little touches. There’s someone at the door,” he adds in a more normal voice, “I’ll be right back.”

He gets up and closes the door behind him, and Hinata finds himself alone and face to face with the rock. He doesn’t touch it; the point of the circle Tsukishima traced is to stop anything from going too far if it explodes, but it won’t work if he sticks his arm in it. He tries to take control of the magical form of the rock instead, going as slow as he can to get acquainted with everything, to be aware of every corner and shift in its energy. The rock doesn’t move an inch and Hinata smiles triumphantly. He’s at least getting this part down.

He focuses again immediately, and starts to take a hold of the smaller threads inside the rock, starts to shake them together to apply pressure. He’s careful not to do it too strongly, too soon, aware that if he pours in too much of his own power, it will shatter instantly.

The first crack appears and Hinata has to catch himself before his concentration breaks like it did at the aquarium.

“Not bad,” Tsukishima murmurs behind him.

The rock explodes in a thousand tiny pieces, that stop in the air in the shape of a half-sphere, held back by Tsukishima spell.

“Noooooo,” Hinata whines. “I was getting it, and then you startled me!”

“It’s not all to be able to focus, you have to be able to keep it that way in any circumstances,” Tsukishima shrugs, sitting again.

He waves and the rock shards fall on the table. Hinata leans back and sighs.

“It seems so simple when you do it,” he complains.

“I’m just more experimented,” Tsukishima says.

On a turn of his hand, the shards gather together and float to the bin in a corner, before falling straight down into it.

“You keep saying that, but you can do so much more than me,” Hinata remarks with a note of envy in his voice. “I don’t understand.”

“I read, that’s all.”

Tsukishima’s tone is curt, dry, and Hinata narrows his eyes.

“You’ll probably learn more than me,” he continues, not turning toward Hinata. “If you make it, that is.”

“You keep doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Downplaying what you can do, what people can do with magic,” Hinata elaborates. “I don’t understand. It’s not like it’s hard for you, or like you’re weak.”

Tsukishima give a short humorless chuckle at that, but keeps looking at the table and nothing else.

“It’s just domestic level of magic. You think it’s amazing because you don’t have that kind of touch,” he says.

“You should stop thinking I’m an idiot.”

Tsukishima finally reacts to that. He turns his head sharply, a deep frown etched into his face.

“What do you mean?”

“You never said anything, but I know you could have come to college with us, studied anything you wanted, kept practicing magic in an official setting,” Hinata lists, crossing his arms. “And you didn't. You never liked it, you never liked to talk about it, and maybe I'm not the most observant person you know, but I've had five years to notice.”

Tsukishima's expression shifts into something harder.

“It's a personal choice,” he bites.

“I don't doubt that, but maybe it wasn't the smart one,” Hinata challenges back.

Tsukishima grips at the table, and Hinata almost expects him to stand up and tell him to leave. But Tsukishima doesn't. He keeps staring at him, and Hinata has no idea what that expression on his face means, so he waits, feeling something clench in his gut.

“It' a personal choice,” Tsukishima repeats, “and I'd appreciate it if you dropped the subject. I've said all I had to say to Yamaguchi,” he adds when Hinata opens his mouth. “Now do you want my help for this or do you want to keep judging me with no knowledge of why I do what I do?”

Tsukishima hasn’t used such an acidic tone in a long time, not with him. Hinata almost thinks he would break, if he pushed more. That he would tell him. And probably regret it, like he always does when he shares the smallest fraction of personal information. He'd had to wait an entire year before discovering Tsukishima had a brother.

“Fine,” he says.

Tsukishima's handle on the table relaxes, but he's still tense. He stands up and closes his eyes before giving a small shake of his head.

“I'll get another one," he tells him, obviously referring to the rock Hinata had shattered. "I'll be right back.”

His walk is stiff, like he's waiting for something, but Hinata stays silent until Tsukishima is out of his sight.

True confrontation had never really be their thing. They fought, yes, but about small things, petty things, and it never made his heart race as much as this had. He's almost out of breath.

“Catch!” Tsukishima calls from the doorway.

Hinata barely has the time to react and receives the rock on the shoulder.

“I've got a client,” Tsukishima explains, and then disappears.

Hinata places the rock in the center of Tsukishima's circle again, and sets to work.

He isn't interrupted until he's managed to make a dozen of small cracks run on the surface of the stone, and it's drenched in sweat that he looks up to find that he's still alone. He hasn't heard much noise coming from the main room, but then again, he's been mostly focused on his exercise. He stretches, feeling a few of his joints crack after spending so much time unusually still, and then drags himself to the door.

Tsukishima is alone, furiously filling a stack of forms at his counter. The sign on the door has already been flipped to 'closed', for who knows how long. Hinata stops in the doorway. Tsukishima has turned on the lights in his part of the store, but kept them on a dim setting, low and so well diffused between the alleys and shelves that it seems the store itself is emitting it. It makes the angles of his face sharper than they are, makes the displeased turn of his mouth obvious, but other than that, he seems to be back to his usual self.

Hinata spends a handful of seconds staring, taking the time to note how exactly Tsukishima looks, before he clears his throat.

“Wanna come and check?” he asks, rubbing his hands together.

The temperature is a little low for his tastes, and he feels chilly. Tsukishima glances at him and then groans.

“I forgot to tell you to leave,” he sighs. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Hinata shrugs. “I didn't really have anything else to do.”

“I know you're lying and probably have tons of other things to do, but I'm not here to supervise your homework, so I'll act like I believe you,” Tsukishima snorts.

He arranges the papers in front of him and tucks one at the bottom of the pile before getting up.

“I see you managed not to make it blow up this time,” he comments upon seeing that the rock is still mostly in one piece.

“I do fine when nobody interrupts me,” Hinata points out, sticking his tongue at Tsukishima when he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, well, my point still stands, but good work,” Tsukishima admits. “I didn't think you'd get it that fast.”

“I don't understand why you still have such a low opinion of my learning skills,” Hinata starts on a light tone. “I passed all my exams this year! And last year too!”

“With Yachi's help,” Tsukishima reminds him. “And luck, probably.”

They plunge into that familiar conversation, revisiting the usual remarks. Over time, it's become less of a hassle to be the target of Tsukishima's attacks, and more of a matter to play the game with him. Some of their arguments date back to their first months of tentative friendship, but for some reason Hinata never tires of them, of trying to find a new way to counter Tsukishima's remarks. It's like playing  _ shôgi _ , but with words, Kageyama had once said, except Hinata was way better at that than at  _ shôgi _ .

“I'll close up,” Tsukishima declares. “I'll let you go home.”

“I can wait.”

“Not in a hurry? I thought you'd want to go back to Kageyama as soon as possible,” Tsukishima smirks.

“I do enjoy spending time with you too, you know,” Hinata says as he hops on the table. “Even though you're a bit of an asshole.”

“Well thank you, that's the best compliment I've gotten this week,” Tsukishima deflects. “If you won't leave, stay still. I'll need about ten minutes.”

Hinata's eyes followed him as he went into the main room again, placed his stool at the center of it, and sat on it, closing his eyes. Hinata tried not to breathe too loud. He'd watched him do it a few times already, but it was mesmerizing, not the least because he had no idea how Tsukishima managed to feel the currents so accurately. He’d rarely had occasions to use magic, and so it had taken him years to even realize he was getting a second vision, but for Tsukishima, it had always seemed natural.

He wasn't lying earlier when he'd told him everything seemed easy for him. Even Kageyama, for all his genius and abilities to master just about every spell he came across, didn't exactly possess the relaxed grace Tsukishima exuded when it came to magic, especially the things he did every day.

Nothing happens that he can see, other than Tsukishima getting up and walking around the store, but he catches a glimpse here and there of what he was looking for, mixes of ugly dull colors that swear with the usually bright colors he could see. He doesn't see the minutes come and go, focused on Tsukishima.

Eventually, he comes back to the stool and opens his eyes, blinking rapidly as he gets accustomed to the light again.

  


“You can start breathing again,” he says.

“Everything in order?”

“I wouldn't leave if it wasn't.”

They gather their things, Hinata crawling under the table to get half of his books that had been strewn across the floor when, in a fit of frustration, he had kicked his bag. Tsukishima waits for him at the entrance, checking his phone.

Hinata feels himself inspired when he closes the steps between them.

“You wanna go eat somewhere?”

Tsukishima looks up in surprise for the second time today, though this time it's not coupled with barely restrained animosity.

“You mean, the two of us? I didn't know we were having another date.”

“As friends, idiot,” Hinata clarifies.

“Feels weird to be on the other side of that word. I think it suits you better.”

“Do you want to or not?”

Tsukishima seems to consider his offer for a few seconds, biting at his lips.

“Yeah, why not,” he finally gives in, pocketing his phone. “Yamaguchi told me he's not home anyway.”

“Really?”

“From what he said I think he's helping moving things along for you with Kageyama.”

Hinata turns abruptly as Tsukishima closes the door behind them.

“Really?” he repeats.

He fully expects Tsukishima to make fun of him, but he just shrugs and starts walking with him.

“Yeah. Your odds seem good.”

“Oh. Nice.”

He expected to feel more excited at the news. Judging by Tsukishima's frown, he did too, but he doesn't comment.

“Choose wherever you wanna go,” Hinata finally says.

Tsukishima gets his earphones out and offers him one without a word. Hinata takes it with a mumbled thanks, and follows him when he starts to walk, a little too distracted to pay attention to the song in his ear.

He feels a lot warmer, now, in a way that reminds him of the aquarium. Except this time Tsukishima isn't holding his hand, and there's something uncomfortably tight in his stomach, and his heart is still a little too fast, and -

And something has gone wrong in his plan.

* * *

“Kenma. Kenma, are you listening?”

“Yes, but I have no idea what you want me to say.”

They're sitting on Kenma's bed. Kenma is leaning against the wall, cross-legged, his phone in his hands, while Hinata is slumped on his chair.

“I don't know either,” Hinata laments. “This wasn't supposed to happen.”

“It sure is an unexpected development.”

Hinata sighs deeply again. He's ready to tear out his hair.

He hadn't exactly foreseen that pretending to date Tsukishima would make him _want_ to date Tsukishima. Or, well, maybe not date outright, but spend more time with him, which he's done, and try to be more affectionate, which they've done, and then, eventually -

“You've got two choices,” Kenma finally sighed. “Either you tell him, or you stop this.”

“Neither is very appealing at the moment,” Hinata mumbles, his words muffled as he lets his face press against his arms.

“Letting this thing go its own way is going to be a disaster, Shouyou,” Kenma tells him. “It's just common sense.”

Hinata leans back and looks at him, his eyes a little red. Kenma is sitting stiff, looking uncomfortable. Hinita feels a little guilty, knowing his friend isn't a fan of romantic feelings, especially other people's, but he can't seem to take a decision himself.

“ I don't want to tell him,” he admits. “That would just make everything weird. And it's more of a, of an  _ inconvenience _ , not on the level of what I feel for Kageyama.”

His voice grows more assured as he talks, and he feels himself getting convinced.

“So what?”

“I should stop it and pursue Kageyama on my own. Just leave Tsukishima be. That's the right thing to do,” Hinata decides, relieved to have reached a conclusion. “Thanks, Kenma.”

“I did nothing, but I'll take the praise,” he smiles.

“You listened, it's more than nothing,” Hinata protests.

He slides out of the chair and goes to plop down next to Kenma, handing him the DS he almost sat on. Kenma takes it and lets him wrap his arms around his middle as he turns it on.

“I have no idea what to tell him, though,” Hinata murmurs, following the character on screen with absent eyes.

“You could just tell him it's enough,” Kenma points out. “You don't have to invent complicated reasons.”

“He'd know that I'm not telling the entire truth,” Hinata grimaces. “You know I'm a terrible liar.”

“It's not exactly lying,” Kenma shrugs. “More like not giving all the information.”

“Still.”

He watches Kenma play in silence, comfortable against him. He still likes Kageyama, very much so, still thinks about him all the time, wants to hold him and kiss him. He wants to see him every day and have the same stupid not-fights with him all the time, and he wants to wake up next to him in the morning, and to hold his hand in public and watch him grow red but hold his too. He has no doubt about his feelings for Kageyama.

So it's really probably better if he does this, if he lets his budding crush for Tsukishima fizzle and die quietly, and lets things go back to normal. He'll need to tell him, and they'll have to tell people they broke up and endure the questions, but he prefers that to being in the state of incertitude he's been in the whole evening, from the second he started walking with Tsukishima to the moment he entered Kenma's room in a panic, almost desperate for a friendly ear.

He watches as Kenma tries different tactics to get to the level's objective, and tries to think of some for himself.

* * *

Hinata enters the room and Tsukishima turns to greet him, ready to endure yet another kiss that he knows is fake, but he gets almost ignored. Hinata just squeezes his hand briefly and sneaks a glance at Kageyama, who is resolutely looking away, then starts eating without more than a word.

He exchanges a look with Yamaguchi, but his friend offers nothing but a helpless shrug.

“You were saying?” Kageyama, of all people, prompts him again.

“I just made them trip like, four or five times before they understood what was happening,” Tsukishima says, satisfied. “They stopped following me after that.”

“Following you?” Hinata repeats.

“When I went home yesterday night,” Tsukishima elaborates. “Two guys who probably thought it would be easy to attack me alone. They forgot about that pretty quick.”

Hinata looks mildly horrified, and Tsukishima waits for him to say something, but he seems to have no words available and goes back to his lunch.

“I thought you lived in a pretty safe part of town,” Yachi frowns.

“Doesn't mean nothing ever happens,” Yamaguchi amends. “The apartment is okay, though. Tsukki and I put protections on it first thing when we moved in.”

“What kind?” Kageyama inquires.

Tsukishima stops and stares, and Yamaguchi hurries to answer. Kageyama has been oddly civil all day, barely fighting him on anything. It feels odd, misplaced, and Tsukishima wonders when he came to think of Kageyama bickering with him as more pleasant than him agreeing without a fight. It’s not really what he expected after Yamaguchi had told him he was moving things along for Hinata.

He hasn’t talked to him about it yet, hasn’t had the occasion, but Tsukishima suspects it’s Yamaguchi’s way of helping him. He doesn’t resent it, exactly, but he wishes he would get more time with Hinata.

He’ll still get time with him, of course. They’re friends. It’s not even like a lot has changed since they’ve started dating – or pretending to. They’ve held hands, Hinata has kissed him a few times on the cheek, and they’ve spend a little more time alone, and that’s it. It’s things he could live without, really. And things he’s known from the start he wouldn’t get to keep, anyway.

He doesn’t try to focus on the discussion again, and leans back instead, taking the scene in. Kageyama and Yamaguchi are still taking, Hinata still playing with his food in silence, and Yachi has opened a book and is reading it, mouthing some of the words as she moves her eyes.

Tsukishima nudges him a little under the table, and he almost jumps out of his chair, his eyes as wide as a saucer.

“What?” he asks, looking furtively everywhere like he's disoriented.

Tsukishima had only planned on saying something that would make him react, make him look less like a ghost of himself, but instead he finds that other words are coming to him.

Ah, what the hell. He still has to sell the boyfriend thing, anyway.

“What's wrong?” he asks under his breath, hoping for his pride that the others aren't listening in.

Hinata's eyes open even more, as impossible as it seemed, but he tries to paste on the fakest smile Tsukishima has ever seen him attempt.

“Nothing,” he lies through his teeth in that overly cheerful tone of his, and Tsukishima would be annoyed if he wasn't so intrigued.

“Right.”

“No, no, I swear,” Hinata keeps going, gesturing along his words with one hand and stabbing blindly in his food with the other. “Hey, Yachi, what's that kanji?”

Tsukishima goes along with Hinata's evasion of the question, but can't help to notice that Yachi looks as bewildered at the attention as he feels. He can't really try to pry here, though he's curious. For Hinata to dodge him like this, his problem is either about him or going to, possibly literally, blow up in their faces, and he'd like to be prepared. But nobody else really looks interested, even if he's certain they've all noticed he isn't acting as usual, and he doesn't want to have to make Hinata talk to him in front of other people if these people won't help him.

He goes back to the store with only the ghost of a touch on his hand and the afternoon passes so slowly that he has all the time he needs to think about it. He dissects Hinata's every movement as he cuts off sage leaves and put them to dry, thinks back on his cornered attitude as he rearranges books on the function of fire in 'witchcraft', and realizes somewhere around selling his fourth set of candles that Hinata barely even touched him. He had shied away from him, and knowing that Hinata considers barreling into people an acceptable form of saying hello, Tsukishima feels worry turn his stomach upside down.

He thinks back on his two options: this is either about him, or about something that will end at least mildly badly and in a mess for Hinata, and possibly everyone else.

He hopes it really is only either one of those.

* * *

They all find their way to his store in the early evening. Yamaguchi high-fives him, for some reason, and Yachi and Kageyama imitate him, but Hinata stays back, smiling weakly at him. His eyes keep going back and forth between him and Kageyama, and Tsukishima is starting to get a better idea of what's going on.

“Oh, would you look at that, the whole gang is here!” someone exclaims from the door.

Kuroo is standing there, bag nonchalantly thrown over one shoulder.

“Oh, good, another pain in the ass,” Tsukishima says dryly.

“You know you love when I come here,” Kuroo grins. “Keiji sent me to get what he ordered from you.”

“I’ll go get it. Don't touch anything,” Tsukishima warns, aware that it's useless.

He tries to be quick about it, and only has to rummage through the pile of boxes neatly piled in the back room for a minute before he gets his hands on Akaashi's order, various seeds of aggressive plants. If it were anyone else, Tsukishima would have serious doubts about selling this, but he trusts Akaashi to not provoke any stupid nonsense, unlike his two boyfriends.

He glances at Hinata in passing, and he still looks as subdued as he did earlier, which isn't a good look on him. He kicks his chair when he reaches him, and nods for Hinata to follow him in the main room.

He gives Kuroo the package and sends him on his way with minimal conversation. Kuroo has this knowing light in his eyes by the time he steps out, which doesn't bode well for Tsukishima, but he needs some time alone with Hinata now, rather than in an hour. He notices that a few of the semi-precious gems have been inverted before he turns towards Hinata, who is bouncing on his feet and fiddling with the hem of his sweatshirt in front of him.

“I'll ask again, and it would be nice if you could tell me the truth this time: what's wrong?” Tsukishima sighs, leaning against his counter.

The edges are just hard enough that it's uncomfortable, but it gives Hinata the possibility to get on the stool, which he does, and puts them around the same eye-level. Tsukishima read somewhere that it gives a sense of trust, and he figures now is not a bad time to try.

It takes Hinata several tries to get something out without stuttering.

“It's Kageyama,” he eventually confesses.

“Why? I thought things were going well for you,” Tsukishima frowns.

“I don't know, he's been avoiding me all day,” Hinata grimaces.

“Like you've been avoiding me?”

Hinata has the good grace of adopting a guilty expression.

“I was, uh, more focused on him,” he admits, rubbing his neck while looking away. “I didn't mean to.”

Tsukishima crosses his arms. It's a development he's prepared for, and he knew he'd need to do this, at some point. He hadn't offered to play the boyfriend part as lightly as Yamaguchi thought – well, almost, if he's being honest, but he's thought about what it would mean for him, to help push Hinata in Kageyama's arms. He's prepared. He just wishes it had happened later.

“Do you have any idea why he might be avoiding you?”

“I know what you're trying to say,” Hinata frowns. “I know Yamaguchi said he was trying to move things along, but Kageyama hasn't tried to talk to me at all.”

“You mean, like _you_ haven't tried to?” Tsukishima points out.

“I tried! He just never got the hint, at all. I would have given up if it was that, you know that,” Hinata says, biting his lip. “And I don't think I missed any signals?”

“And do you think you might have given him mixed ones?” Tsukishima presses.

Hinata tilts his head to the side in interrogation, and Tsukishima gestures at himself. Hinata's lips part with a soft 'oh!'.

“ As far as he knows, you're  _ taken _ .”

Hinata buries his head between his hands.

“I can't believe I forgot that side of things.”

“Lucky you,” Tsukishima bites out.

Hinata looks surprised at the bitterness of his tone, but Tsukishima waves away anything he might want to say.

“So why haven't you confessed to him yet, anyway?” he asks instead, crossing his arms again.

Hinata mirrors him and adopts a pensive expression, leaning on the side again. Tsukishima watches with detached fascination as he stops short of falling out of his seat.

“You know what, that's a good question,” Hinata answers softly. “A very good one.”

He's looking straight at him. Tsukishima refuses to flinch under his gaze and raises his eyebrows in a silent challenge. They stay like this until someone else enters, probably Tsukishima's last client of the day. They both turn sharply to the door to see an old man limping in with a decided air to him.

“I'll leave you to it,” Hinata murmurs, and jumps off before bowing at the customer and going to the back room again.

“Hello, how can I help you?” Tsukishima asks, putting on his work persona, which is just slightly more polite than his real one.

“My grandson is being an idiot,” the man mumbles.

“I'm afraid I can't help you with that, sir.”

“I only need what's on this list,” the old man declares, putting down a crumpled handwritten paper.

Tsukishima has to squint to decipher the first signs, but he gets the general idea.

“You're trying to make an enhancing fertilizer?” he comments, sliding away to get what he needs.

The old man stays where he is, using the counter as support, and nods.

“He thinks the farm needs to buy more of that industrial crap,” he says bluntly, “but I'm perfectly capable of making it myself. He can go to hell.”

Tsukishima hums in answer, hoping the sound was enough of a reaction for the man to stop talking to him. He gathers the ingredients rather quickly, struggling under the pounds of various dead insects that were on the list. He can't help but wonder how the man is going to carry all of it when he barely seems to be able to walk by himself, but refrains from actually asking.

He gets his answer when a guy with bleached blond hair, presumably the grandson, comes in too and gets greeted by a disdainful scoff.

“Yes, yes, I know,” he rolls his eyes. “Now hand it over.”

“I can get it myself,” the old man protests, reaching for the pile of things Tsukishima had been steadily piling together.

The younger one watches as his grandfather tries to lift one of the bags and barely has the force to get it a centimeter high in the air.

“Go open the car for me, please,” he says gently, handing him a set of keys.

The older man snatches them out of his hands with a grunt, and nods at Tsukishima by way of goodbye before hobbling outside.

“Sorry about that,” the man apologizes. “He's not taking very well to aging.”

“If you say so,” Tsukishima answers, neutral.

“Professor Ukai? Is that you?” comes Yachi's voice.

All four of his friends run into the room, crowding the man who seems embarrassed at the attention and looks at Tsukishima with incomprehension.

“Where are you all coming from? What are you doing here?” he asks, looking at each of them in turn.

“Tsukki here is our friend,” Yamaguchi answers, pointing at him. “Tsukki, this is Ukai, he he’s our main practice professor.”

“I'm more of a glorified coach than a real professor,” Ukai shrugs, trying to get the things his grandfather had bought in his arms and to hide behind them.

“Don't say that!” Hinata counters. “You're amazing!”

“Yes,” Kageyama agrees fervently, “without you we would all have drowned the first week.”

Ukai is still trying to retreat, but then seems to remember he hasn't paid. He takes his wallet out and presents his credit card to Tsukishima, who completes the transaction without drawing it out, taking pity on him. His initial instinctive dislike of anybody having anything to do with teaching magic had taken over, but he feels compassion for the man. Managing an entire class of people like his friends sounds, frankly, like hell on earth.

“I think your grandfather is waiting for you,” he says when he gives him back his card.

“Your grandfather? Can we meet him?” Hinata questions immediately, his eyes almost shining with excitation.

“What kind of manners are that?” Kageyama just as immediately exclaims. “The guy has no idea who you even are!”

There's something on Ukai's face that indicates that his grandfather might know who Hinata is, although maybe not in only good, but fortunately Hinata is too occupied arguing with Kageyama about proper etiquette to pay attention. Ukai finally gets to leave, waving back at Yamaguchi and Yachi as he walks backwards into the door and almost trips.

Hinata and Kageyama seem to at least be closer than they have all day. They're practically encouraging each other in escalating the fight. Hinata is smiling, and Kageyama is – well, at least lifting a corner of his mouth, which is already something. They're touching, too, Tsukishima notes, little slaps on the arm and back to get a point across.

“All right, that's enough,” he intervenes, slightly raising his voice. “Everyone pack up and leave.”

“I'll wait for you,” Yamaguchi says.

“I'll go on ahead with Kageyama,” Hinata declares.

Tsukishima freezes, just for a second. That's it, then. He's encouraged him, and now it's the finish line. Whatever happens between them, after tonight, it will be over between him and Hinata.

Not that it had ever actually begun.

“I'll stay here for a bit too, then,” Yachi says slowly, like she's not sure what's going on.

Yamaguchi smiles encouragingly at her and gestures for her to come into the backroom. They both know by now how he finishes the day, and he appreciates that he doesn't have to tell them not to disturb his work. Hinata and Kageyama only stay long enough to gather their things, and they're gone in an instant. The last Tsukishima seems of his now undoubtedly ex-boyfriend is his hopeful smile, as he silently mouths 'wish me luck' at him.

Tsukishima wishes him all the luck in the world.

He brushes the few specks of dirt and dust and other residues that sit on the counter and goes to sit on his stool, closing his eyes. He's aware of every sound in the room, and especially of the muffled whispers coming from the other room, but he forces himself to focus and listen to what he's looking for.

He has to drag himself from disharmony to conflict, and it's almost painful to do so, to pick apart the notes and make them sing the way they should when his own being feels completely off balance, when there's such a feeling of dissonance pulsing with every heartbeat.

He ends his work in the same place as usual, trying to regain his breath. He's almost angry at himself for losing control like that, for being so affected even though it's not a surprise at all.

He doesn't notice Yamaguchi and Yachi staring at him in the doorway until he opens his eyes. Yamaguchi has this look about him, one that Tsukishima hates, because he can read the pity in it. Yachi is just shaking her head and sighing, opening her mouth to say something, and then sighing again.

“I'm guessing Yamaguchi told you,” Tsukishima says, mostly to break the silence.

“Yeah,” she answers, her voice soft to his ears.

He sniffs once and gets up, avoiding Yamaguchi's eyes. He doesn't need his pity, or even his compassion, he resolves. He doesn't, because this is something that he walked right into, knowingly and willingly, and he was prepared for it. Hinata may not have said so explicitly yet, but he knows this whole thing is over, and it's normal, it's expected, it has been the only possible outcome since the start.

“You okay?” Yamaguchi asks, barely louder than Yachi's voice.

Tsukishima shrugs, dismissing the question. He will be, and that's all that matters. It was good while it lasted, but really good things rarely last for long where he is concerned.

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi prompts again.

“I'll be fine,” he manages to say.

He gets up and gathers his bag, his headphones thrown haphazardly on one shelf in the back room, his jacket hanging on the wall by the multiple cardboard boxes that he hasn't has the time to sort through yet. He can hear Yamaguchi and Yachi exchange a few words, and he has no doubt that he's the object of the conversation, but nothing they can say will change the way things are.

He is fine, and Hinata will be happy, and Kageyama too, and it's most likely the best way for this to come to an end.

“Let's go,” he tells Yamaguchi and Yachi, gesturing for them to get out.

They don't move, and he frowns, ready to repeat himself.

“You're crying,” Yachi tells him. “Just, right here,” she adds, pointing at her own right eye, “you're crying.”

Tsukishima reaches for his face and Yachi is right, there are tears starting to run down his face. He wipes them away, but it's a bit late, now.

“He's going to tell him, isn't he,” Yamaguchi sighs.

“Yes. Yes, I fucking encouraged him,” Tsukishima admits, “and he's going to tell him. He probably is confessing right fucking now.”

He has to take a deep breathe and hopes he isn't going to break now, because that would really be a shame.

“I told him to, all right?” he tells them. “I told him to fucking go and tell Kageyama he's head over heels for him, and I'm guessing you told Kageyama to confess too, and they're going to _finally_ get together and stop bothering us with the useless pining and I'm really, really fine with that, all right? Now can we go home?”

He feels the tears burning behind his eyes, ready to flow and make a mess, but he resists the urge to rub them away. He holds Yamaguchi's stare, refusing to flinch. He can't break now.

“No way, you're not going home,” Yachi declares, firmly holding the strap of her bag.

Tsukishima barks out a laugh.

“Why not?” he asks, spreading his arms.

“You need a distraction,” Yachi insists, and, well, she might have a point here, Tsukishima recognizes.

“What do you have in mind?” Yamaguchi asks.

“Remember that night paintball thing where we wanted to go?” she offers, looking between them.

Yamaguchi makes an appreciative face.

“You get to hit things. Well, people,” he points out.

Tsukishima considers it for a moment, but he doesn't exactly have anything better to do. He shrugs and turns off the light with a flick of his wrist.

“Let's go, then.”

* * *

Hinata is bouncing as they walk home, literally unable to stay still for a second. Kageyama tries not to let his nervousness affect him, but he spectacularly fails. He's been on edge since Hinata was so quick to get them out of the store, and knowing that his friend is anxious about something is making his own fears rise like flames sprayed with oil. Or just flames placed in Hinata's control, which does make the metaphor incredibly accurate but doesn't really bode well for him.

He knows it's completely irrational to think that Hinata might have found out about his own feelings for him. For one, Hinata is the densest person he knows. Even if he'd been obvious about it, which he doesn't think he has, he would most likely not pick up on it.

The problem is that apart from that, he has no idea what Hinata might want to talk about. He's tried to make efforts with Tsukishima, knowing that Hinata wouldn't appreciate him antagonizing him much, so he doubts it's about that. They haven't had any big fights lately, either. And Hinata knows better than to come looking for relationship advice from him, regardless of his own feelings towards him.

So when Hinata eventually stops in the middle of the sidewalk and looks up to him, he has no idea what he's about to say.

“Okay, listen,” Hinata starts, stumbling over his words. “There's something I need to tell you. And, it's, uh, it's important.”

He's fiddling with both his hands and can't keep his eyes on Kageyama, looking to the ground and the sky in turn.

“Okay,” Kageyama replies, feeling lost.

“Okay, here we go,” Hinata mumbles to himself.

He plants himself firmly in front of Kageyama, takes a deep breath and looks him right in the eye.

“I'm in love with you.”

Kageyama blinks twice, very slowly.

“You have a boyfriend,” he points out, rather judiciously in his opinion.

“Not for real,” Hinata says.

And, okay, this is getting surreal.

“Are you trying to cheat on Tsukishima with me?” Kageyama asks, because this is the only thing he can make out of _this_ , whatever _this_ is.

“What? No!” Hinata protests. “I wouldn't cheat on anybody.”

“You just told me you loved me even though you're dating Tsukishima!”

“I'm not dating Tsukishima!”

“Then what have you been doing for the past weeks? Acting?”

“Yes!” Hinata shouts.

Kageyama knows he's gaping, but he can't help it. Acting?

“What the fuck?”

“I know it sounds completely crazy,” Hinata hurries to say, “but he's the one who offered, because I didn't know how to get your attention, or even how to make sure you even had feelings for me, because you're always so dense, so-”

“ So you pretended to date Tsukishima, of all people?” Kageyama repeats, just to make sure he has heard all of this right. “And, wait, dense? I'm not  _ dense _ .”

“I wanted to see if you'd get jealous, okay, and he offered to help, and said that it would probably be even more effective if it was him, because you guys mix like oil and water,” Hinata explains. “And yes, dense.”

“What kind of solution is that?” Kageyama yells back. “You could have tried flirting, like normal people do!”

“I did!” Hinata exclaims. “I did, but you never got the hint. You'd just turn and do something else, or ask me if i was going to finish my food, and I would have taken that as a hint of you not being interested if you weren't also asking me _what I meant_ half of the time. So yeah! I had to try something else.”

He's out of breath by the time he's done, and Kageyama feels stunned. He'd had no idea, absolutely _no_ idea Hinata had been flirting with him. He can't even remember of a time where he'd thought that _maybe_ -

“Which, uh, on that subject,” Hinata clears his throat. “Are you interested or not?”

“Interested in what?” Kageyama asks.

He has a feeling he should know, but this is confusing and his head feels like it's been turned upside down. Hinata isn't dating Tsukishima, Hinata tried to make him jealous, Hinata is –  _ in love with him? _

“In me, dumbass,” Hinata replies.

They've stopped shouting. It's not that noticeable, their voices didn't bounce off any walls, instead losing themselves up in the air, but time seems to stretch in the silence.

“Yes,” Kageyama stammers. “Yes. I didn't- I never thought you would be too, so I never- and then you and Tsukishima- but yes.”

“Does that mean our plan actually worked?” Hinata says, his face lit up by his biggest smile.

“Maybe?”

“Yes!”

Hinata punches the air with a triumphant cry and jumps in his arms. Kageyama almost falls back, but manages to catch him and Hinata sets about hugging him tighter than he ever has. Kageyama mirrors him in almost fumbling gestures, still not entirely processing what just happened.

“You're in love with me?” he repeats.

  


“Yeah!” Hinata almost yells in his ear. “I mean, maybe it's more strong like, I don't know, but I want to be with you, and- and hold your hand, and-” he tries to say, getting redder at every word. “And maybe k-”

Kageyama pushes him back, just enough that he gets back on his own feet instead of hanging on him like an overgrown koala, and it cuts him off.

“You're in love with me.”

“Yes, I just told you.”

Kageyama is still reeling from the shock. The last twenty-four hours are blurring in his head, and he's not entirely sure his limbs are going exactly where he wants them to.

“You should tell Tsukishima,” he finally says, which wasn't at all what he wanted to suggest, but he's not feeling very much in control right now.

“Oh, you're right,” Hinata agrees. “I'll call him.”

He takes a few steps back and digs out his phone, dialing Tsukishima's number easily. He smiles at Kageyama while he waits for him to answer, and Kageyama vaguely hears muffled words, but he still feels like he's in a dream. Nothing seems real, not the trees, not the buildings lining up the street, not the cars passing them, not the rustle of city sounds surrounding him, not the lingering taste of magic in the air, so familiar.

Hinata tears him away from his daydream, a smile on his face, and they walk home, close enough to lightly bump into each other at every step.

* * *

Tsukishima wakes up late and hurting all over, and he's disoriented before he remembers why. He rolls on the side with a groan as the sunlight hits him, and rolls again in the opposite direction, drawing the cover above his head.

He opens his eyes in the relative dark, squinting to make out the details. He sighs, knowing that he's too awake now to go back to sleep. He reaches for his glasses and forces himself to get out of his bed, throwing his legs on the side to sit up.

There's a missed call on his phone that he's been ignoring since last evening, and he doesn't pay it more attention now in the morning. He drags himself in the kitchen, noting that Yamaguchi's shoes are gone. The clock on the microwave indicates it's the middle of morning, though he's already guessed that.

He goes through the motion of his breakfast, and allows himself the luxury of an actual complete one instead of only theabridged version he gets most mornings. Neither he nor Yamaguchi really has the time to prepare anything elaborate in the morning, too busy trying to glean every minute of sleep they can.

It's the good thing about not having to obey anyone else but himself, he muses as he cleans his rice bowl. He doesn't have to rush to open the store. Most of his clients are long-time regulars or college students who go there because it's closer, so he's not really in danger of losing a lot of people if he doesn't open for one morning.

By the time he's cleaned up, taken a shower and put on clothes he can wear in public, it's almost noon. He knows he should go to the store, at least, even if he doesn't open. He can't let it without surveillance for even a single day. But there's the missed call and the voice mail left after, taunting him from his phone, and he's been to scared to pick it up.

He knows it's from Hinata, and knowing that Yamaguchi hasn't texted him this morning to report means that everything went well for him. He's glad, genuinely – or a part of him is, at least. It's easier if he knows Hinata is already happy. But it's definitely not the emotion dominating all others right now.

He breaks the staring contest with his own phone before it begins. He refuses to sink that low, and pushes a few buttons before putting the phone on speaker and putting it down on the nightstand again, maybe a little too forcefully.

_ "Hey, Tsukishima. I, uh, I just confessed to Kageyama, thanks to you, and it went- really great, actually. I think it did, at least. And so, I wanted to say- I wanted to thank you, because you really helped me, and you didn't have to, and I'm really grateful. And now you can stop pretending and we can go back to being- to being just friends, not that we  _ weren't  _ friends, but, you know. Anyway, thank you for everything, I'll see you tomorrow I guess. Good night!" _

The message ends on Hinata's cheerful voice and the final  _ beep _ . Tsukishima lets his head hang down, eyes closed.


	3. Chapter 3

It's five days before he sees Hinata or Kageyama again. He finds excuses to avoid eating lunch with them on campus, makes Yamaguchi tell them that he will be too busy at the store for them to come over, and Yamaguchi, for once, doesn't comment. His lips twist in a disapproving line at each of his requests, but he complies anyway.

Tsukishima is fully aware of what he's doing, and it pisses him off, but he can't seem to help it. It's not entirely lies, he _is_ busy, and maybe he's finding more work to be done than usual, but his excuses are solid. The problem is that it's what they are, excuses. He's avoiding them in the least subtle way, and he's starting to think it's some bullshit self-preservation instinct making him, because he doesn't _want_ to. He's not thrilled at the idea of being confronted to it, but he feels like a coward, staying hidden like this.

So he throws himself into work. He serves his clients in the most exhaustive way possible, makes a complete inventory of all the weird objects people have been giving him, for lack of having any use for them or even knowing what they were, and undertakes the task of identifying them. He finally digs into the boxes piled up in the back room, finding that some of what's been sitting there has begun rotting away, and has to perform three cleaning charms to get the smell out. He's considering scrubbing every shelf by hand when Hinata completely ignores his attempts at keeping his distance and walks into the store.

He's so taken aback that he barely has the time to force his face into a neutral expression.

“Hey,” Hinata starts, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders stiff.

“Good evening,” Tsukishima answers. “You here for anything?”

“For you, actually.”

Tsukishima had seen it coming, but he still can't help the sharp breath he draws, like he's waiting for a punch.

“For me,” he drawls. “What a surprise.”

“I haven't seen you for, like, a week,” Hinata explains, leaning against the counter. “I was just wondering how you were.”

“Peachy,” Tsukishima deadpans. “As usual.”

His answer leaves Hinata frowning. He turns away, digging into a stack of orders paperwork – rather thin, now that he's had the time to go through them.

“I didn't think that was a word I would ever hear coming out of your mouth,” Hinata comments, apparently not discouraged by his attitude.

“I do have a rather extended vocabulary, unlike you,” Tsukishima replies absently.

“Yeah, sure, but really, how are you?”

“ _ Busy _ , Hinata,” Tsukishima hisses. “So do me a favor and go eat your actual boyfriend's face off and leave me to do my job.”

He knows he's being more than cold, and in a way, he regrets it, but he needs Hinata to leave him alone. Right now.

“Hey, I was just trying to be nice,” Hinata defends himself.

Tsukishima snaps and turns to him, letting his irritation slip on his face. Hinata almost takes a step back, his brows furrowed in concern.

“ Well, I'm  _ fine _ , so don't bother,” he enunciates clearly, each word feeling like ice on his tongue. “You did your friend duty, now leave me alone.”

Hinata looks almost hurt, but Tsukishima's preservation instinct may have had a point, and it refuses to acknowledge it.

“Fine,” Hinata says after a long silence. “You better apologize when you're in a better mood. See you.”

He turns his heels and darts out of the shop, letting the door slam shut behind him. Tukishima looks at him until he's out of his sight, and then slumps down on his stool.

All right, so maybe avoiding him hadn't been such a bad idea. His hands are unsteady, almost shaking, and he realizes only now that his heartbeat is incredibly fast. The symphonies filling his store sound just that much louder, crowding him, and he's pretty sure it takes him several minutes to get back to normal.

He's a mess. He's a fucking mess, all because he can't seem to bury his feelings deep or fast enough.

The doorbell rings again, and he looks up to see four students entering. He knows them, they live in the same dorm as Kageyama, Hinata and Yachi, and even used to be in the same high school as them. They're a few years older, and he had even mistaken one of them for an old man the first time, because of his ash-colored hair.

  


“Hello,” he says, grateful that he has enough experience that his work persona is easy to slip into. “What can I do for you?”

“ Oh, we have to look around a bit,” Sawamura replies easily, “the assignment is supposed to be about  _ creativity _ . I hope you don't mind.”

Tsukishima shrugs. They're all of the least annoying kind, usually in and out fast and efficiently , so he doesn't mind it for once. Then again, he's not sure he's feeling well enough to mind anything that would require him to get out of his nice autopilot script.

Azumane waves shyly at him before Sugawara elbows him. They throw a few words at each others, and then Sugawara seems to try to get forgiven by kissing him. Shimizu quickly breaks the embrace, touching lightly their shoulders when she passes them on her way to the plants in the front, and they both comply, Azumane looking embarrassed and Sugawara unbearably smug.

Sawamura hasn't moved away from the counter yet, and Tsukishima is starting to feel the weight of his stare on him.

“Did you need something specific?” he sighs, crossing his arms.

“No, just some conversation, but you're still not offering much,” Sawamura smiles. “I didn't really understand what happened between you and Hinata, by the way. Care to explain?”

Tsukishima grips at his sides, knowing his knuckles have gone white.

“I agreed to make it seem like I was dating him to make Kageyama jealous,” he summarizes in the least passionate voice he can muster. “Which worked, apparently.”

“That was a really sneaky thing to do,” Sugawara comments, suddenly appearing at Sawamura's side and throwing his arm around his shoulders. “I'm proud of you.”

“Suga, don't encourage him to do things like that,” Azumane sighs, expertly dodging Sugawara's punch this time. “I'll take five grams of fairy tears, if you don't mind,” he adds for Tsukishima.

Tsukishima steps away, grateful for the way out, and carefully gets Azumane a small packet of the shiny dust, careful not to let any spill on the floor. It tended to be an absolute nightmare to remove.

By the time he comes back, Shimizu is there but Sugawara is gone, humming while he looks at the small section of books. Tsukishima is pretty sure he isn't actually looking for anything, since he only has beginner's books in stock, and Sugawara is way above that level already.

Shimizu has lined up various leaves and he has to weigh them all, under her quiet attention. Sawamura starts talking again halfway through, and he has to clench his jaw to stay silent and not explode.

“You know, it's really nice to have helped them get together like that. It was getting sad to watch, honestly,” Sawamura babbles. “Of course, they're still a couple of idiots, but at least there's no romantic tension in the air anymore, and it's liveable for us again. I _do_ know that they've started going into each others’ rooms at night, even though they think they're being sneaky, but it's almost cute.”

“Will that be all?” Tsukishima cuts him off, with the coldest tone he can manage without being rude.

Sawamura's smile changes then, with something that reminds him of Yamaguchi and Yachi.

“I really hope you were okay with that,” he adds more softly. “They're not going to break up anytime soon.”

Tsukishima gets hit by the realization that Sawamura knows. They hadn't made up a complicated story, and Hinata had simply told the truth, probably omitting all the things he'd missed, and somehow that had been enough for Sawamura anyway.

“I have no business in telling them what they can and cannot do,” he eventually answers.

The four of them are back in front of him. Azumane looks like he wants to say something, but Shimizu stops him with a press of hand on his mouth.

“That will be all,” she says, her voice as smooth and calm as ever.

Tsukishima is painfully aware of the looks the three guys are exchanging as Shimizu pays, but he resists the urge to let his words blow up into his own face. He can be better than that. He has to, now.

“Take care of yourself,” they tell him when they leave, and he's completely certain they mean exactly what he thinks they mean.

He's tired of people taking pity on him. He decides to close for the day, hurriedly going through his usual check-up, and then practically runs out of the store to get to the apartment.

He closes the door, leaves his shoes in the entrance and takes the few wobbly steps that separate him from the couch, and falls gracelessly on it. It takes him two tries to get comfortable, having absolutely forgotten his jacket and bag the first time. He lies down and throws his arm over his face, trying not to think of anything.

Judging by the way he startles when there's a key turning into the lock, he succeeded so well he even managed to take a nap. He sits up and almost falls down, only to meet Yamaguchi's annoyed eyes.

“What?” he asks, his voice rough.

“Nothing,” Yamaguchi replies, obviously lying.

He gets in his room and comes back out dressed more casually, making a beeline for the kitchen part of the room. Tsukishima watches him in silence for a moment, then turns on the TV when Yamaguchi heats up their leftovers. He brings them just a few minutes later, almost throwing Tsukishima's part into his lap.

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

Yamaguchi's tone is unexpectedly dry. Tsukishima raises an eyebrow at that, surprised, but doesn't comment. For all he knows, Yamaguchi may be having as bad of a day as himself, but if he doesn't want to talk about it, then he'll let him.

“Why did you never say anything to Hinata?”

Or maybe this is about him, because Yamaguchi still can't let him handle this on his own.

Tsukishima puts down his food.

“Are you asking for real or is it just to start what you have to say,” he replies, crossing his arms as he turns to Yamaguchi.

“Both, actually,” Yamaguchi declares. “The rest will depend on your answer. If it's honest.”

They look at each other, some kind of drama unfolding on the television without either of them caring. Tsukishima isn't used to having to really put up a fight in these kind of staring contests. Most people look away quickly, and then he gets what he wanted, which is usually to be left alone. But Yamaguchi isn’t most people.

He's forced to look away, eventually, and he sighs, knowing that he can't really lie now. He still feels Yamaguchi's eyes on him.

“Because it would have forced him to choose,” Tsukishima admits, just loud enough that his voice isn't covered by the show.

“And you didn't want that to happen,” Yamaguchi finishes for him. “Because you didn't want to hurt him or because you were scared of what choice he would make?”

“I wasn't scared, I knew what his choice would be,” Tsukishima snorts, crossing his eyes again. “But he's the kind of people to beat himself up if he thinks he might have hurt you wrongly, and that would definitely fall under that.”

“So you settled for this instead,” Yamaguchi insists, spreading his arms to show the apartment, the couch, the leftovers of leftovers, and just them, sitting there.

“I _chose_ this,” Tsukishima corrects him with a frown.

“No, you _settled_ ,” Yamaguchi repeats. “You were scared, so you let things happen and didn't fight for what _you_ wanted, and you settled, _again_.”

“ What do you mean,  _ again _ ?”

Yamaguchi looks actually angry, now.

“Listen,” he starts. “You're handsome, and charming, you're talented, you can work hard if you want, you definitely are smarter than a lot of people-”

“Is that supposed to make what you're about to say sound better?”

“ No, it's supposed to make you understand,” Yamaguchi retorts. “You're all of that, you could do anything you want, but instead you  _ settle _ . You did it with Hinata, because you preferred to suffer by letting him crush your heart unknowingly than taking the risk of actually being happy with him, and you found a way to make it look like it was some sort of, I don't know, noble sacrifice,” he elaborates, his voice rising louder and louder.

“Yamaguchi-”

“And you've done it before, when you refused to go to college,” Yamaguchi keeps going. “All because you would rather take the least risky road and have the uneventful life of a store owner than actually try to make something, to _be_ someone more important than that, even though you are entirely capable to. You let your life pass you by, and I love that store too, and I know how much it means to you, but you're frustrated because it's ordinary, and lonely, and boring,” he lists, brandishing one finger for each item. “And it's killing me to see you trap yourself in it.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima hisses as he stand up.

“ _ And _ ,” Yamaguchi doesn't stop, standing up too so they're practically eye to eye, “you keep doing it by refusing to do anything that would involve practicing a higher level of magic, even though you can! You could do something, even without a college degree, but you won't and it's on you, and not on anybody else, and it's stupid!”

“You know why I stay out of that,” Tsukishima reminds him. “You know better than anybody else.”

“You won't end up like your brother!” Yamaguchi exclaims. “You're a natural, you would be as good as Kageyama if only you didn't confine yourselves to domestic magic, and you know it!”

“There's no point into throwing all your hopes into something as fickle and unsure as magical talent,” Tsukishima states, something he's said a hundred times, a thousand, so familiar that it's automatic. “Almost everybody dreams of becoming the next fucking witch or wizard of the century, and almost nobody has the power or the talent to get there, and-”

“I _know_ that, Tsukki! I know the statistics, I know Akiteru failed and failed again, and that it was terrible to see, but you're not like him! You wouldn't end up like him! But you can't see that,” he spits out, “so instead you _will_ end up like all the things you've said of him, mediocre and forgotten by everyone. You could be so much more than that.”

Tsukishima is fighting the urge to throw up. He clenches his fists and bows, just a little, just enough to remind Yamaguchi that he's still taller than him, and he lets the magic pour into his fingertips, an explosion of harsh cries that pounds in rhythm with his blood.

“Stop talking about my brother like that,” he growls.

“You're the one who said all that,” Yamaguchi reminds him, turning away and throwing his arms up. “You're just so afraid of _not_ getting what you want that you prefer not trying at all. What are you scared of, succeeding? This is bullshit, and you know it,” he says, looking him into the eyes again.

“Are you done now?” Tsukishima snarls.

Yamaguchi shrugs helplessly and nods, crossing his arms in defiance.

“ I don't give a shit that you think it's stupid, because these are my choices, for  _ my  _ life, and not yours, Tsukishima seethes, getting closer to him again. “You've barely even talked to me about this-”

“That's because you close up every time I try!”

“ And yet you keep  _ pushing _ !” Tsukishima yells. “Even when it's obvious that I don't want you to! And you can disguise it as concern all you want, but we both know it's because you're as afraid of ending up like Akiteru as I am, and you want to be able to say you did something worthwhile in your life. Well guess what, I'm not your fucking project, but you better pay attention, or you're going to hit the same walls as he did, and I won't be there to hold your hand anymore!”

He's panting by the time he's done, like he just ran a marathon, and Yamaguchi is pale, almost white, his face closed and hard. It's quiet again, except for the noises coming from the television, almost deafening in the sudden silence. Tsukishima realizes he's still drawing magic currents around his fingers and lets them go. The disappearance of their cacophony makes his head feel lighter, less crowded. Yamaguchi still hasn't uttered a word. He’s standing immobile and silent, but still tense, like he’s not done yet.

Tsukishima has had enough for the night.

“Good night,” Tsukishima bites out, before gathering what he'd let fall on the ground earlier and promptly getting into his room, closing the door behind him.

He throws his jacket and his bag on the floor again, close to his bed, and sinks down, heart still racing. For the longest time, he can't hear anything other than the muffled voices coming from the television, then Yamaguchi must have turned it off, because it's silent. He hears a faint rustle, then the sounds of cupboards being open and closed, and finally, after what feels like an eternity, Yamaguchi's door is closed.

He can breath again, but the air is too heavy, and he feels weak, stumbling on his way to his bed. He almost changes in an old shirt to sleep, then remembers it used to be Akiteru's, and quickly decides to wear the one he had today instead.

He slides under the cover with an overwhelming sentiment of defeat.

* * *

When he wakes up, it's all at once, like torn away from his dreamless sleep. He stays still for a few seconds, listening to anything that could have woken him up, but the world outside is still dark and pretty much silent. He turns around and glances at his phone to find that it's four in the morning, and sighs. He still has hours before he has to get up.

But he can't seem to go back to sleep. He turns and turns again, too hot under the covers and then too cold on top of it, unable to find a position that feels comfortable for more than ten seconds. He tries reading, but he can't focus on the words, his mind coming back to the fight instead.

It's the problem, with childhood friends. They both know where exactly to hit to hurt, and they've both hit the mark perfectly. It leaves a sour taste in his mouth to admit it, but Yamaguchi has pointed at something he'd been wondering about for some time, though he hadn't put it so explicitly, and certainly not seen the link with Hinata. And he knows that in return, he's done the same. Yamaguchi was no doubt aware of his own insecurities already – he'd always been the more introspective one, between them – but it doesn't mean that it hadn't hurt.

He sighs, putting down the book he's been trying to read for half an hour, now. He can't shake off the feeling of guilt. He may not be as in touch with feelings and people as Yamaguchi, but he knows he's the one at fault, this time, and he doesn't have teenage stubbornness to hide behind anymore to avoid apologizing. Well, he's still a teenager, technically, for a few more weeks at least, but it doesn't matter.

He gets up, bare feet almost silent as he makes his way to the kitchen. He turns on the lights and digs out what he needs to make breakfast. He tries to do it as quietly as possible, swearing under his breath when he drops a plate on the table. It's still before six, so he doesn't want to wake up Yamaguchi.

The smell of rice and miso soup has filled the entire apartment by the time Yamaguchi drags himself out of his bedroom. He looks less angry than he did the night before, but he doesn't smile either. Tsukishima puts down the last of breakfast and wipes his hands, nervous. He doesn't have much experience in apologizing, and even less to Yamaguchi, at least not explicitly, but he has a feeling his usual methods won't cut it this time.

“Good morning,” he says, opting for the most neutral statement he can think of.

He could also have only said 'morning', but he needs to show he's willing to talk. He tries not to cross his arms and stay in an open posture. It seems to work; Yamaguchi gratifies him with a 'hello', and sits down on his chair. Tsukishima does the same, but neither of them touches the food yet.

“What's this for?” Yamaguchi asks, his expression unchanged.

“I couldn't sleep,” Tsukishima says.

He gathers from the heavy silence that it wasn't the answer Yamaguchi was expecting. His friend raises his eyebrows, and when Tsukishima fails to keep going, he starts getting up, a sigh on his lips.

“Fine,” Tsukishima tries again. “I'm sorry for yesterday, you were right and I was a dick.”

He cringes at how petulant he sounds, but Yamaguchi sits back down and after a moment, his lips curve upwards.

“Better,” he comments.

“I don't know what more you want,” Tsukishima replies, already less tense.

Yamaguchi shrugs, taking his chopsticks.

“I don't know, how about promising you'll try to do better and take opportunities when you see them, and stop obsessing over your brother's failure to focus on your own life?”

“That's a lot,” Tsukishima snorts.

“Pick one to start with,” Yamaguchi suggests, filling his bowl with rice.

“All right,” Tsukishima sighs. “For the record, I hate the way you said it, but I'll _try_ to stop obsessing over my brother's failures.”

It's not like he's never thought about it. He knows he's blocked by Akiteru's own mistake, on a more than logical level. He just hadn't considered it a priority.

“Wow, such enthusiasm,” Yamaguchi comments.

“Being enthusiastic about it wasn't in the contract,” Tsukishima replies, serving himself too.

“Fine. Now that you've admitted to being an asshole, can we get back to Hinata and how you never even tried to make a real move?”

Tsukishima swallows carefully, not answering. Yamaguchi waits for maybe half a minute before he sighs.

“Okay, I'm letting you get away with it for today, because you apologized so nicely,” he says. “But you have to come eat with us again, I'm not covering for you anymore.”

“Thank you for your immense magnanimity.”

Tsukishima finishes eating peacefully when Yamaguchi heads out, his hair still damp from his shower, with a reminder that he's agreed to eating with them. He has the morning to build his resolve, then, he muses. It's better than Hinata's surprise visit.

He gets to the store a little bit later than usual, but nobody's waiting. He stops by the plants when he gets in, lightly brushing their cool leaves and reveling in the sound it makes, both on the ‘normal’ and magic plane, for him.

It's not a slow morning, for once, and he's grateful for it. The less he thinks about it, the better. It's going to be difficult enough to graciously accept that Hinata and Kageyama are dating, he doesn't need to think about it all the time too. He closes while ushering a client outside, simultaneously texting Yamaguchi to assure him he's not bailing. He doesn't run to campus, yet he feels slightly out of breath when he reaches the classroom they meet in.

They don't seem unhappy to see him, at least. Yamaguchi is smiling, and Yachi waves happily. Hinata seems more reserved, and Kageyama makes some kind of weird face when he spots him, but then again, Kageyama rarely makes normal faces at him, unless you count his eternal scowl. It disappears soon enough anyway, and when he reaches them, finding his way between the tables and the other students, it feels almost like it did before this had started.

Except he can see Hinata leaning into Kageyama like he used to do with him, for those two weeks where they pretended to date, and shit, this is going to be hard.

He mumbles an apology for being late and sits on Yachi's left, right across Hinata and Kageyama. He tries to act natural, to ignore how much he wants to get up and leave, but the conversation is awkward, stilted, and despite Yachi and Yamaguchi's efforts to salvage it, he barely exchanges a word with Kageyama, and no more than ten sentences with Hinata.

So it comes as a surprise when Kageyama catches up with him as he leaves.

“What's wrong?” he has to ask, because he can't imagine why else Kageyama would run after him.

“Nothing,” Kageyama replies, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “I just wanted to, uh, thank you, for. You know.”

“Pretending to date your boyfriend?” Tsukishima fills in the blanks.

Kageyama nods awkwardly, and Tsukishima feels like strangling someone. Possibly himself.

“That's a weird thing to thank me for, but all right,” he says drily. “Can I go now?”

“I was trying to be polite, you don't have to be a dick about it,” Kageyama shoots back.

“What _is_ it with you both and being nice to me?” Tsukishima exclaims. “I helped you get together, fine, nice, everyone's happy, can we move on now?”

Kageyama looks ready to reply, but Yachi sticks her head out of the classroom and interrupts them.

“Are you all right?” she asks, genuinely concerned. “We heard shouting.”

“Fine,” Tsukishima hurries to say. “See you.”

He turns around and walks away fast, but not enough to miss the way Kageyama narrows his eyes at him. He couldn't care less.

* * *

People run past him, but Hinata doesn't bother, taking his time in putting away his books and pens. Kageyama is sitting on the table before him, waiting. He's making a red marker someone forgot behind levitate, going in loops around the room, above the heads of the last students. To anyone else, he would have looked bored, but Hinata knows that Kageyama considers every little use of his magic just as important practice as those training sessions they have in the gyms.

He pats Kageyama leg lightly to indicate he's ready, and the red marker drops slowly, landing softly in Kageyama's hand.

They don't really talk when they step out of the room, and then of the building. Hinata reaches for Kageyama's hand, and is still amused at the shade of red that appears on his face. He'd been intimidated, at first, wondering how Kageyama would react, but this reminds him every time that they're the same they've ever been. They're just officially together now.

“Oh, what was that with Tsukishima at lunch?” he remembers suddenly, slowing down to be able to look at Kageyama.

  


“Nothing,” Kageyama shrugs.

“Right,” Hinata snorts. “We heard you yelling, but there was nothing.”

“He was just being obtuse, as usual,” Kageyama sighs exasperatedly. “He's always in a bad mood, lately, it's getting annoying.”

“Yeah, I wonder what's happening,” Hinata agrees. “He was better today, though. When I went to see him the other day, he was. Well, he was an asshole,” he says, honest. “Even more than usual, I mean, I'm used to that, but it was different.”

“And if Yamaguchi knows why, he hasn't told us,” Kageyama adds, pensive.

They look at each other then shrug. They can't help, anyway, so they might as well wait until Tsukishima works out whatever is pissing him off. They've finally reached the dorm, not yet bustling with life, as most of their dorm mates get in later than they do.

“Race you to the second floor!” Hinata yells, letting Kageyama's hand go to get a head start.

“I won't let you win!” he hears Kageyama protest in his back, but he's climbing up the stairs already.

He reaches the common area of their floor seconds after, and bends over to catch his breath. Kageyama chooses that moment to crash behind him, and sends them tumbling down. Hinata lands on his stomach, Kageyama falling heavily on him and knocking out the last air in his lungs.

“Get off me,” he manages to say in a strangled voice, trying to push Kageyama away.

“Shut up,” Kageyama mumbles in response, sounding about as well as Hinata feels.

They roll over and Hinata finds himself on top of Kageyama, who's managed to get on his back. He starts to get up, but almost falls forward, and finds himself just a breath away from Kageyama.

“Hi,” he breathes out, letting his lips stretch into a smile.

Kageyama doesn't smile, but his face softens, the corners of his eyes crinkle, and he exhales softly.

“Hi,” he whispers back.

They stay like this for a few seconds, and Hinata is wondering what he should do when Kageyama reaches for him. His fingertips trail down Hinata's cheeks, lightly brush his ears, and Hinata forgets to breath as Kageyama maps his face with his fingers, traces his lips with the most tender touch they've ever shared.

“Breathe, idiot,” Kageyama eventually murmurs, a hint of a smirk on his mouth.

Hinata smiles back and bends down to kiss it away. He keeps it short and chaste, knowing he's surprised Kageyama, and sure enough, when he pulls back, his eyes are wide.

“Sorry,” he says as he starts to sit up. “I just-”

“Don't apologize,” Kageyama interrupts him, breathless.

Hinata freezes and looks at him again. He's all red, even redder than when they hold hands, but he's looking intently at Hinata, and he's snatched his wrist, keeping him close.

“Oh,” Hinata says.

Kageyama tugs on his arm and he gladly goes down again, stopping just above Kageyama's face with a grin.

“Are you trying to piss me off?” Kageyama asks.

“Is it working?”

Instead of answering, Kageyama huffs and lifts himself off the ground, closing the distance between them. Hinata is the one taken by surprise this time, but he throws himself into the kiss, knocking Kageyama back down.

“Would you kids mind doing that in your room?” someone says above them.

They jump, startled, and bump their teeth with a pained groan before seeing that Suga is watching them with something that's equal parts delight and calculating.

“Sorry!” Hinata immediately apologizes, mortified. “We'll, uh, we'll go.”

“Don’t forget your bags,” Daichi tells them, smiling behind Suga.

They finally manage to both get up and scramble to get their things and get out. Hinata pushes Kageyama forward, and he’s going too when Daichi calls him.

“Hinata, wait.”

Hinata turns around, surprised. Daichi is more of the type to let them go mercifully.

“Have you talked to Tsukishima recently?” Daichi asks, surprising him.

“Yeah, today, actually,” he replies, “why?”

Kiyoko has joined them, and she’s the one who answers.

“We just wondered if you knew what’s been bothering him,” she tells him with a smile. “He seems down lately.”

“I wouldn’t say down,” Hinata grimaces, “but he’s definitely in a worse mood than usual.”

“He's reverted back to the worst version of himself we've ever met, you mean,” Kageyama adds without any tact.

“No, he's been worse,” Hinata amends, “but yeah, he hasn't been himself. His current self. Do you know why?”

Kiyoko shakes her head and Suga and Daichi exchange a look behind her. Hinata deflates, disappointed. He had hoped they might have at least a beginning of an explanation, but it was back to square one. Kageyama only shrugs beside him, unaffected, and tugs one his hand to get him to leave.

“Okay, well, please tell me if you find out,” he hurries to say before Kageyama drags him in the hallway. “And, uh, sorry for earlier!”

He runs away, feeling his face burning up again, and they close the door almost before they're entirely into Kageyama's room.

The walls are painted a light color, the same as every room in the building, and Kageyama's bed is taking up most of the room, looking like it hasn't been made since the first time someone slept in it, which is probably the case. It's otherwise not too cluttered, only a few clothes and textbooks thrown here and there and forgotten, and Hinata manages to get to the desk and chair without much trouble, which cannot be said when it's about his own room.

Kageyama sits on his bed while he sits backwards on the chair, and they try not look at each other, too embarrassed.

“That was nice,” Hinata finally declares.

His throat feels rough, like old bark, and he swallows before daring to meet Kageyama's eyes.

“The kissing?” Kageyama asks, resolutely looking at a point far to the left of Hinata's head.

“Yeah.”

They turn their heads just enough to look at each other and Hinata tries to stop the nervous laughter he feels bubbling up, but Kageyama breaks first and he follows, almost falling off the chair and rolling on the floor.

“I'm never going to be able to look at Daichi and Suga in the eyes again,” Kageyama hiccups between two bursts of laughter.

Hinata agrees, holding his stomach. It had been absolutely mortifying, but they should probably get used to that feeling. There's not much privacy in the dorm, even if they all have their own rooms.

“So do you wanna do it again?” he asks after the giggles die down. “Kissing, dumbass, not – being in that situation again,” he adds when Kageyama looks positively horrified.

“The kissing, huh?” Kageyama repeats.

Hinata hums in agreement, suddenly feeling a lot more confident. It's always like this, with Kageyama. If he's doing something alone, he'll doubt, wonder, worry about failing, but if Kageyama is here, he feels invincible, like nothing bad will ever happen to him. He smiles without a hint of anxiety at Kageyama's reaction, because he feels none, which will never cease to amaze him. He feels like he's floating.

“Well, you'll, uh, need to come closer,” Kageyama points out, stumbling over his words.

Hinata laughs, just a bit, and disentangles himself from the chair to come fall at Kageyama's side. He gently knocks their shoulders together, noticing that Kageyama is tense again.

“We don’t have to-”

“I want to,” Kageyama interrupts him, eyes cast down. “I really, really want to kiss you again.”

His hands are clenched in fists around his sheets, but he's looking at Hinata now, a familiar note of determination in his posture. He's not shaking, and Hinata smiles, leaning in. Kageyama meets him halfway, too stiff, and they have to try a few more times for him to really relax into it.

Hinata loses any notion of time after that.

* * *

Things with Tsukishima, however, don't seem to get any better. He still comes to eat lunch with them but barely talks, even to Yamaguchi, preferring to keep his nose into his food. Pretty much all of Hinata's attempts at conversation fall flat, and even Yachi, who he tolerates more than any of them on bad days, can't get a word out of him. The only one who gets him to react is Kageyama.

It wouldn't be such a problem if the reactions were positive or, at least, neutral, but they'd started to do things like bickering about the details of obscure spells, only to lead to angry yelling five minutes later. And it isn't just their usual fights; Hinata knows these, and this is different.

The atmosphere over their little group shifts, heavier every day. Hinata, Yachi and Yamaguchi would do all they could to diffuse the tension, and seconds after they'll be at it again. Hinata isn't sure he prefers that over the lonely feeling he'd gotten during the few days Tsukishima had avoided them.

He only really understands that there is a reason behind this sudden deterioration of their relationship when he notices that Yamaguchi seems angrier every day, too, specifically when Tsukishima is the one to start the fight. Hinata has heard him scolding Tsukishima several times, rushing after him when he leaves, but to no avail. It hadn't occurred to him before, though, that Yamaguchi might actually know what was making Tsukishima so acerbic.

He corners him during a training break, one afternoon, both still drenched from their exercises in liquid manipulation. Hinata had gotten water first; Yamaguchi, less lucky, had had to deal with oil, which was an entirely different process. He's trying to get it off himself, a few steps away from everyone else, and Hinata jumps on the occasion.

“I have a question,” he starts, bouncing over to where Yamaguchi is desperately trying to scrub himself clean.

He turns his head at that, an understandably suspicious expression on his face.

“About what?” he says anyway.

“About Tsukishima.”

Yamaguchi freezes for a fraction of second and slowly turns to face Hinata with his whole body, holding his soapy hands up.

“You’ll have to specify.”

“I just- he’s been, like, horrible lately, especially with Kageyama, and I think you know why,” Hinata explains.

He watches as Yamaguchi’s face goes through an impressive ordeal. He can’t quite catch all of the emotions succeeding each others, but at least he knows he was right. He doesn’t have the time to be satisfied, however, because Yamaguchi finally settles on a deep, deep sigh and rubs his face like he’s exhausted, smearing both oil and soap on his cheeks and forehead. He looks at him with half-lidded eyes, in silent contemplation.

“Tsukki is going to kill me and I am not supposed to tell you,” he says, “but fuck it. You might not like it, though.”

“Why, did I do something?” Hinata worries, already wondering how he can make it up to Tsukishima to fix whatever is happening with him.

“Not… exactly,” Yamaguchi hesitates. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Then tell me!”

“Tsukki likes you. Is probably pretty much in love with you, actually,” he adds, shoulders sagging under the weight of the words. “He didn’t want you to know, but he’s been miserable for way too long.”

Hinata barely hears the second part.

“ He  _ what _ ?” he croaks out, dumbfounded.

“He likes you,” Yamaguchi repeats.

“Since when?”

He only means it to be a rhetorical questions, but Yamaguchi starts counting.

“He’s told me about six months ago, now,” he finally shrugs. “But it’s probably been longer.”

“But that means, when we started- when we dated-” Hinata stutters in a strangled voice.

He can feel his world falling down. Yamaguchi’s face darkens and he nods solemnly.

“I didn’t want him to, but he said it would help him get over you, get closure, something like that,” he remembers with a hint of resignation. “Obviously, it didn’t.”

“Shit,” Hinata swears. “Shit, shit, shit!”

He thinks back to all those little moments – holding hands, leaning toward each other to be closer, sitting pressed together, all those moments Tsukishima had seemed just a little bit nicer, softer, and he’d wondered why, thinks back to those few times he’d  _ kissed him _ -

“What did I do?” he whispers, horrified.

“ _You_ didn’t do anything,” Yamaguchi declares firmly. “He did this to himself, you couldn’t have known.”

Hinata doesn’t have the time to answer, as everyone is called again to gather around Ukai. Yamaguchi glances at himself, but deems his cleaning work enough to keep going. He gives Hinata a sympathetic grimace and pats him on the shoulder before running to go join the forming group.

Hinata lags behind, walking mechanically. He almost can’t believe it – Tsukishima liking him already sounds ludicrous, but for so long? Without telling him? And _then_ helping him get together with _Kageyama_ in the most convoluted and hurtful way possible?

And he hadn’t noticed at all, he realizes. He’d been so focused on Kageyama, and then on his own feelings, that he’d never noticed anything.

He looks up and sees Kageyama waiting for him, and there’s a little voice that tells him if he hadn’t ended things, if he had told Tsukishima, things could have played out very differently.

He feels sick.

* * *

Hinata skips the rest of the day’s classes, lies about not feeling well, and goes straight home.

He lets his bag fall on the ground in his room and stares blankly through the window, unable to see what's beyond the glass. He's still turning Yamaguchi's words in his head, and all their implications. If Tsukishima likes him, then…

He feels frozen on the spot. His door is still wide open behind him, and he still has no idea what's on the other side of the window, and he can't move, can barely breath, because he just realized he's messed a lot of things up, and he has no idea how to fix it. If it's even fixable.

That's how Kenma finds him. He's managed to drag himself to his bed and is sitting on it, eyes lost somewhere far away, and Kenma has to call him four times before he reacts to the note of worry in his voice.

“Shouyou, what happened?”

Kenma's hand on his shoulder grounds him, and he's yanked back into reality, where he still has no solution and no idea what to do.

“Shouyou!” Kenma calls again, urgently, almost shaking him.

Hinata looks up to meet Kenma's golden eyes, sharpened by the concern in them, and he swallows.

“How much time do you have?”

* * *

It takes a long half hour to get everything out, and Kenma sits with him, patient as ever. He sees his eyes widen slightly in understanding somewhere around the moment he tells him about the change in Tsukishima's behavior, and he feels like an idiot for not having connected to dots sooner.

“That's a real mess,” Kenma comments once he's done, between two comforting but awkward pats.

“I know,” Hinata sighs. “I have no idea how to even face Kageyama.”

“Why wouldn’t you? It doesn't change anything between you two,” Kenma points out.

“Not for him, but I have no idea how to deal with it,” Hinata repeats. “I just want to hide somewhere until I have some kind of illumination.”

He feels the weight of Kenma's stare on him, but he keeps looking down. He doubts that Kenma will be the one to offer him a solution. He's already been here to listen, and Hinata knows it's already a lot. Kenma is skilled at reading people, of course, and is usually spot on in his estimation of people's reactions, but he approaches it like a RPG quest and Hinata is fairly sure that's not the good way to go at this.

The problem is that he has no idea what the good way is. He can't leave Kageyama just like this, but he can't really ignore that he's attracted to Tsukishima too, especially knowing that Tsukishima likes him, has liked him for some time now, and that he probably broke his heart, if such a thing is possible. He can't completely cut Tsukishima out of his life, it's out of the question, but then he knows he will start wondering, start looking for the little signs, and-

He made this happen, by being an oblivious idiot – Kageyama and Tsukishima are fighting on a daily basis and at each others’ throat for the most insignificant word, and it's his fault, because he hadn't been able to see that he was hurting Tsukishima, and now he was taking it out, which wasn't fair, but none of this was fair, and-

“Stop doing that,” Kenma orders softly.

Hinata is surprised by his voice, taken far away from the room by his thoughts. He feels even more sick, like he does on the days of big tests, except ten times worse.

“I can't really stop thinking,” he tells Kenma with a feeble smile.

“Then think about what to do,” Kenma replies, like it's that simple.

“Erase myself from this existence and go live in the mountains as a hermit,” Hinata suggests after a beat. It's the best he's come up with.

“You don't usually run from your problems,” Kenma observes, making himself more at home on Hinata's bed.

He doesn't look comfortable, nudged between the pillow and the wall, but Hinata has seen him adopt weirder positions while playing. He scoots backwards on the bed too, back to the wall, his head turned toward Kenma and the window. Kenma is looking at him without blinking, almost like a cat, quietly waiting for Hinata's next move.

Hinata is hesitating between proving Kenma wrong and running out of the room or staying.

“I'm not sure it's something I can solve like the rest, though,” he confesses. “Usually it's _my_ problem, something I can make better if I try to make efforts and improve, and I'm the only one concerned, so it's simple. But I can't just, like- it's not like when I learned to cook, or when I train in class, or when I have to learn thirty pages of a textbook. I can't _learn_ Tsukishima and Kageyama, I can't make them do what I want through hard work or efforts or- I can't.”

He feels drained by the admission, like he's declared defeat already. Kenma's eyes are softer now, and he sighs quietly, just enough for his breath to make the tip of his hair sway a little.

“What do you want them to do, then?” he questions, circling his knees with his arms.

Hinata shrugs, looking down again.

“I don't know.”

They stay like this for some time, in silence. Hinata's thoughts circle again in his head, despite his efforts to keep them away, and he doesn't even have the energy to try again. He knows Kenma is waiting for him to find a way, a solution, a stepping stone at least, like he usually does, but this time he's feeling around for it blind, vision obscured by the knowledge that if he had been just a little more observant, just a _little_ more, maybe this would have been resolved a lot earlier.

This time it’s a knock on his still open door that interrupts him. When he looks up, Kuroo and Kiyoko are standing there, raising their eyebrows at the obviously less than relaxed and content atmosphere, so different from the usual. Kenma waves at them nonchalantly, but Hinata jumps on his feet, startled.

“Wow, I was just looking for Kemna, but what’s with all the doom and gloom?” Kuroo questions with a smile.

“It’s-”

“He discovered Tsukishima liked him,” Kenma cuts him off.

His tone is odd to Hinata’s ears, almost bored. Kuroo’s mouth is tugged down in a contemplative pout.

“Ah,” Kiyoko murmurs.

It suddenly occurs to Hinata that nobody has seemed very surprised at the news.

“What do you mean, ‘ah’?”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Kuroo sighs.

“ You mean you  _ knew _ ?”

“Since you told us it was all fake? Yeah, of course,” Kuroo shrugs. “I mean, it was odd when you announced you were dating, but not improbable, and we had been wondering for some time, right?” he adds, turning to Kiyoko.

“He smiles more when you’re here,” she nods. “He’d never been very obvious about it, so that’s why we weren’t certain, but it didn’t seem that far-fetched.”

“And when you guys told us it was fake, ironically, there was no doubt that _he_ liked you,” Kuroo finishes.

“Why?”

“He wouldn’t do that for anybody, Hinata,” Kiyoko points out.

“Actually, I doubt he would have done that for anybody except you,” Kuroo chimes in. “Maybe Yamaguchi, but that’s it. He’s a good guy, but he’s usually not into that kind of thing, especially if there’s nothing in it for him .”

“Heartbreak, in this case,” Kenma comments.

Hinata is vaguely aware that Kuroo is having a silent conversation with Kenma through facial expressions, probably another one about bluntness and tact, but he falls back on his bed without really seeing. Kiyoko sits next to him, just close enough to offer a comforting presence without touching him.

“How do _you_ feel about him?” she asks.

“That’s my problem,” Hinata answers in a strangled voice. “I don’t… feel nothing. But I don’t want to hurt anybody else, I messed up enough already.”

Kiyoko hums and exchange a look with Kuroo. He tilts his head and spreads his arms, almost like he’s shrugging with his whole body, and Kiyoko frowns. He sighs reluctantly and takes the chair, sitting across them. Kenma shuffles closer too, on Hinata’s other side.

“You know,” Kuroo says, “You don’t _have_ to choose. Just like us,” he adds, gesturing between him and Kiyoko. “I mean, I’m dating both Koutarou and Keiji, and Kiyoko is-”

“I know,” Hinata says, shaking his head, “but your datemates don’t _hate_ each other.”

“Hate is a strong word,” Kiyoko observes. “It’s always explosive when they’re together, but I always thought they got along rather well, in their own way.”

“They used to, until – well, until all _this_ ,” Hinata sighs, moving his hand as if to encompass the situation he’d led them into. “Now we can barely get them to say hello to each other at lunch, and Kageyama hasn’t said anything but he tries not to go to Tsukishima’s store. Whenever they’re in the same room, it’s like - ‘grrrr’ and then ‘BOOM’”, he explains, trying his best to convey the tense, heavy, storm-like atmosphere that has been plaguing every lunch hour for days. “Yachi and I are trying to think of something to do in case they start actually, _physically_ fighting, because it’s probably going to happen.”

“Did you try talking to Kageyama about it?” Kuroo suggests. “He should listen to you, at least, right?”

“He says it’s Tsukishima’s fault and he’s just reacting,” Hinata relates. “It was, at first, but now they’re just always ready to get into an argument, both of them. But he doesn’t want to admit it.”

Silence falls on the room, as Kiyoko rubs Hinata’s back in an attempt at comfort and Kuroo adopts a pensive expression. It’s Kenma who eventually talks, though, fidgeting with his phone but looking at Hinata.

“I think you should talk to them about it again,” he declares. “Both of them.”

“If I can get them together long enough, I’ll try,” Hinata sighs dejectedly.

“Shouyou, I mean that you need to talk about your feelings with them. And about theirs. Openly.”

“If they fight about the weather, I think they’ll fight about that too,” Hinata points out, confused as to where Kenma is going with this.

“Okay, then let’s look at it like this. Tsukishima most likely started being tense and ready to fight because it hurt him to see you with Kageyama, especially after getting a taste of what it would be to actually _be_ with you,” Kenma lays down in a matter-of-fact manner. “Then he started rubbing Kageyama the wrong way, and their respective temperaments kicked in, and now they’re locked in a vicious version of their usual fighting, because neither of them will back down, as usual.”

“So you can’t defuse it and get back to the usual sexual tension without addressing the actual cause of it,” Kuroo finishes for him, following his best friend’s thoughts.

Kenma nods with finality.

“Sexual tension?” Hinata repeats. “When they fight?”

The three of them look at him with a mix of affection and resignation.

“Yes,” Kenma says.

“I never understood sexual attraction and even I can see it,” Kuroo smirks. “Not saying they’re gonna bang anytime soon, especially with the way things are, but that was always definitely a possibility.”

“To go back to the topic at hand,” Kiyoko interrupts them, taking pity on Hinata, “you need to sort this feelings thing out with them. And you have to be open about it, all of you, which means you can’t say nothing about the fact that you’re attracted to Tsukishima as well.”

“I can’t see how that would go right.”

“Trust us,” Kuroo sighs, “it’s better to have it all out in the open and then talk about it. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s better than the alternative.”

Hinata has the feeling there’s a story behind this, but he doesn’t ask. He thinks, biting his lips as he tries to find options.

“I’ll try,” he declares eventually. “But I think I need to get them to talk to each other again first, without yelling.”

“That’s already something,” Kiyoko smiles.

“But how are you getting there?” Kenma asks.

“I don’t know yet,” Hinata sighs. “I think I’m gonna need help.”

* * *

Yamaguchi and Yachi are already waiting for him when he gets to the library in the middle of the afternoon. Kageyama is getting in personal practice, and Tsukishima is at the shop, as usual, so it’s the perfect time to devise a plan of action, before he loses the courage the conversation that morning has given him.

“I need your help,” he announces immediately, running up to both of them. “We need to get Kageyama and Tsukishima to stop fighting. Well, stop fighting like they are,” he amends.

They both get the exact same look, halfway between alarmed and wholeheartedly agreeing.

“But I have no idea how,” Hinata adds before they can speak, and he’s treated to a collective grimace.

“Short of brainwashing them, I have no idea,” Yamaguchi admits. “I tried talking to Tsukki about it but he refuses to say anything. Like, literally, he’ll just shut up until I change the subject. He’s closing up again.”

“Like a clam,” Yachi nods. “He’s okay when it’s just me at the store, but the second I mention you or Kageyama, I might as well have told him to run for president of the magic sports committee.”

“I know,” Hinata sighs, throwing his arms up. “That’s why we need to do something!”

“It needs to be something direct,” Yachi remarks. “Tsukishima would understand something subtle too well to fall for it, and Kageyama would plainly not understand it.”

“Yeah, but just telling them to sort it out won’t cut it,” Hinata reminds them. “Neither of them wants to _try_ dialog.”

“So we force them to,” Yamaguchi answers.

“How?”

“Lock them both in the back room?” Yachi blurts out.

She seems as surprised as them to have proposed it, but doesn’t retract it.

“That might work if we actually could keep them inside,” Yamaguchi agrees after a few seconds.

“I can,” Yachi says. “I mean, they wouldn’t need more than a few minutes to break the spell, but either way it forces them to cooperate. Or at least talk to each other.”

“Okay, let’s go then,” Yamaguchi decides.

“Woah, wait, now?” Hinata stops him, alarmed.

“Yes, now, today,” Yamaguchi insists. “I just spent weeks with a moping Tsukki at home, I’m not letting it last longer than it needs to.”

“But Kageyama isn’t even here!”

“Then tell him to come with you at the shop,” Yamaguchi suggests. “He’ll do it if it’s for you.”

Hinata grimaces, even though he turns on his phone.

“I don’t really like doing this,” he confesses as he types the message.

“No, but if it helps them making up, it’s worth it,” Yachi sighs. “I preferred it when they argued just for the pleasure of getting the upper hand, not because they couldn’t stand the sight of each other.”

Hinata has to agree, and he only hesitates a second before pressing ‘send’.

* * *

When Kageyama arrives in the shop, there’s nobody at the desk. He can’t even see Hinata, and he wonders if he’s gone off with Tsukishima somewhere. The thought makes something sour turn in his stomach, and he tries to forget it.

Thankfully, Hinata soon looks into the shop for the half open back room door, a smile on his lips.

“Hey, come in,” he tells him, pointing at the room behind him.

Kageyama can hear muffled voice, probably the rest of their friends. He steels himself for the inevitable confrontation that will come, and marches on, walking around the counter and resisting the urge of disturbing all the carefully lined-up vials on his left.

As he expected, Tsukishima is inside, with Yamaguchi and Yachi. They don’t seem to be studying, instead simply sitting around and talking. Everyone freezes when he enters, except Hinata, who is biting his lip so hard Kageyama is worried he’s going to draw blood. He almost reaches up to Hinata’s mouth to tug his lip free, but stops himself, still not sure exactly how comfortable they’re supposed to be.

Before he’s even managed to draw his eyes away from Hinata’s face, Yamaguchi and Yachi are walking past him and out of the room, determined. He looks at them, confused, and suddenly Hinata is blurting out a ‘sorry’ and running out with them.

Tsukishima gets up and runs towards the door, but too late, and he stands beside Kageyama as it’s slammed closed. They both immediately feel Yachi sealing it, and Yamaguchi’s voice rises, clearly audible through the thin wood panel.

“We’re tired of seeing you fight. Please sort your shit out,” he announces.

It’s all they hear before there’s a final ‘click’, and they hear footsteps fading away. Kageyama exchanges a bewildered look with Tsukishima, who looks less than radiantly happy.

“What the fuck.”

“Indeed,” Tsukishima says drily. “I expected talking, but not this.”

“Should be easy to get out,” Kageyama observes.

He knows his tone is curt at best, but he’s stopped caring these last few days.

“Well, if you say so, please,” Tsukishima tells him, forcing the sarcasm. “The door is all yours. Don’t blow it up.”

“I’m not Hinata,” Kageyama bites back, reaching for the door.

“You’ve been trying to teach him, and look at the results,” Tsukishima snorts.

Kageyama looks back, and Tsukishima is there, crossing his arms and smirking at him. He huffs and turns back to the door, feeling the spell that’s been entangled with it. He starts methodically separating the threads of magic, and –

“You’re doing it wrong,” Tsukishima remarks behind him. “There’s no point in doing it like that, you just have to look for the weak points and breaking it there.”

“You’re the one who told me to do it,” Kageyama reminds him, “so shut up and let me finish.”

“I would if you weren’t taking your time,” Tsukishima retorts. “It’s a lot more efficient to go looking for the weak parts.”

“It would take time too.”

“Not if you try to see it all at once, like a sensible person who doesn’t have a narrow view of the world.”

At this Kageyama turns back and goes toe to toe with Tsukishima, even more pissed by the fact that he has to look up.

“What _is_ your problem?”

“You, obviously,” Tsukishima spits. “I thought I was making that clear.”

“What did I ever do to you?”

“ Oh, sorry, I hadn’t realized I should have deposed a formal complaint to his  _ majesty _ .”

The word brings Kageyama back to memories he’s tried to avoid, of pushing people too hard and losing them, and he sees red, grabbing Tsukishima’s shirt in a fist.

“Listen here,” he starts, almost growling. “You’ve been looking for a fight for days, being cold and an asshole and pissing me off all the time, and I don’t know why, so yes, before I kick your ass, I’d like to know _why_ you’re being the most insufferable dickhead I know, because if it’s just by pleasure, I’m gonna-”

“Gonna what?” Tsukishima taunts him. “You really think your little threats can work with me?”

“Is it because of Hinata?” Kageyama asks.

Tsukishima pales, his face fixed in an expressionless mask, and Kageyama knows he’s spot on. He’d been wondering, because of the timing, but it didn’t make sense.

“Shut up.”

“ Why, are you pissed we’re dating? Because if that’s it, maybe you should have thought about that before  _ helping _ ,” Kageyama hisses.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“ No, I want to know why I’ve had to be the person to be your personal emotional punching bag, okay? I’m not stopping until you tell me what your fucking problem is with me,” Kageyama insists, tightening his hold on Tsukishima’s shirt. “Or we can just fight, if you really want to, if you’re so sure I can’t win against  _ you. _ ”

Tsukishima doesn’t answer, only looks at him, and Kageyama backs down, feelings the fight seep out of him. He lets Tsukishima’s shirt go, and it wrinkles in the middle of his chest, but neither of them smooths it down. They can’t look away, their faces only inches apart.

“ My problem,” Tsukishima finally confesses, each word heavy in the air, “is that I can’t  _ hate  _ you. That’s it.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said!” Tsukishima exclaims, throwing his arms up. “I know you too well to hate you and I hate that. That’s my entire problem.”

“But why do you _want_ to hate me?” Kageyama asks, confusion almost equaling anger now.

“I’d been so glad you’re both the most oblivious people ever, but this is frustrating,” Tsukishima seethes. “Because I _like_ your fucking boyfriend, that’s why, you imbecile!”

It takes Kageyama a handful of seconds to process, during which Tsukishima has closed his eyes, sighing in defeat. He’s turning away when Kageyama finds his voice again.

“You like Hinata?”

“Good to see your hearing still works. Yes, I like Hinata,” Tsukishima retorts. “I really don’t know why that’s surprising to you. If anything, you should understand.”

“Then why did you-”

“If you’d been in my position, if he had been complaining to you for months about having a crush on me,” Tsukishima cuts him off, “and not knowing what to do to get my attention, apart from telling him I’m an asshole and not worth it, what would you have done?”

“I-”

“You would’ve helped him.”

“Probably,” Kageyama admits under his breath. “Is that what you told him? That I’m an asshole and not worth his time?”

Tsukishima hesitates. He’s looks more resigned than angry, like he’s finally reached a point where he’s deemed fighting useless.

“No,” he says. “Like I said, I know you too well to hate you. I knew you’d be happy together. I just didn’t like it. But you’re – you’re a good person, which is my fucking tragedy,” he adds, smiling without any trace of humor, “because there is no reason for me to be angry, except for jealousy. And I’m certainly not a good person, but it’s still on a level of petty I never thought I would achieve. And it pisses me off.”

Tsukishima turns away, sitting on one of the chairs they’ve all occupied so many times. It’s weird, to see him sitting alone there, and Kageyama briefly wonders if that’s how it is when they’re not here and there’s no client, if Tsukishima is as lonely as he looks right now.

“You helped us even though you knew it would hurt you,” Kageyama says quietly, sitting on the chair next to him. “That’s doesn’t scream ‘asshole’ to me.”

“That’s not what you were saying a minute ago,” Tsukishima snorts.

  


“I know it’s going to surprise you, but I’m aware people are complex and multifaceted,” Kageyama deadpans.

He doesn’t miss the look of surprise on Tsukishima’s face, nor the hint of a smile on his lips. They fall silent, and it’s soothing to his ears.

“Does that mean you’ll stop being an ass?” he can’t help but ask.

“Can’t promise I’ll ever stop that,” Tsukishima smirks.

“You know what I mean.”

Tsukishima sighs and drags his hand down his face, then looks at him, for so long Kageyama wonders if he should ask again.

“Consider this a peace offering,” he eventually declares.

He gets up and goes to the door, and Kageyama feels him break the spell in a few seconds, shattering it in several different places. He’s tempted to roll his eyes at the little glance Tsukishima gives him, but gets up when he opens the door.

Or tries to, at least, because it stays locked. Tsukishima frowns and pulls and pushes again, but it doesn’t budge.

“Did they actually use a… locking device?”

“Did you really just forget the word padlock?”

“Shut up.”

“Yeah,” Tsukishima sighs. “Do you think you can unlock it?”

“I’m not sure. You?”

“Probably not. Guess we’ll have to call them.”

He’s opening his mouth to yell for their friends to open to them when Kageyama puts his hand on his shoulder.

“Wait. You should tell Hinata,” he tells him.

Tsukishima blinks, surprised.

“I really don’t see why.”

“Because if you don’t, I will,” Kageyama says honestly. “He’ll want to know.”

Tsukishima mulls it over for a few seconds, then nods.

“Fine.”

* * *

Hinata has been pacing back and forth in the store for what seems like an eternity. After getting Kageyama and Tsukishima in the back room, they had taken over the direction of the shop because, as Yamaguchi had said, “we have classes about this stuff and we hang out there all the time, how hard can it be?”

Harder than they’d thought, apparently, because both him and Yachi have been trying to understand what the energetic undercut guy at the counter wants for a good five minutes now, but Hinata can’t focus. He keeps glancing at the door, biting his lips, his nails, taking things from the shelves and then putting them back up. He hasn’t even tried listening, worrying sick about what’s being said but almost too scared to find out.

He has the terrible feeling that they’re making things worse, and can’t seem to shake it off. He almost jumps out of his skin when they start banging on the door, asking to be let out. He can see Yamaguchi’s satisfied smirk – he’d been the one to insist they make a detour to his and Tsukishima’s apartment to get the heavy padlock, giving no explanation as to why it was in his possession.

“Can you open to them?” he calls Hinata, pointing at the guy Yachi is desperately trying to get a comprehensible explanation out of.

Hinata gulps but nods, hoping his hands aren’t shaking too bad. He catches the key Yamaguchi throws at him, and misses the first keyhole twice before he even manages to start unlocking the metallic monstrosity.

He battles with it for thirty long seconds before he hears the telltale click. He reaches for the door, but it’s pushed open before he can even touch it.

Behind it are both Kageyama and Tsukishima, standing together. Hinata waits a few seconds, then notes the lack of yelling with relief. Oddly enough, they seem to be concerting each other about something. Coming from two people who haven’t had any other interactions than aggressive snarking and angry yelling lately, this is disconcerting. Eventually, Tsukishima sighs and gestures for Kageyama to go ahead.

“We need to talk with you,” Kageyama states. “Especially him.”

Tsukishima narrows his eyes, but doesn’t interrupt him. Hinata had expected to have them grudgingly agree to stop being unbearable together, not to come to some sort of agreement so soon, but it’s working good for him. The less he has to worry about them starting to fight in the middle of the conversation _he_ wants to have, the better.

“Right now?”

“If possible,” Tsukishima says. “Yamaguchi and Yachi can hold the fort for now.”

Yamaguchi salutes them from the other side of the store, where they’re now inspecting closely three leaves of the same family. Hinata nods and they get out. Tsukishima leads them to a small park nearby, and they stop under a cherry tree, flowerless at this time of the year but still overflowing with the magic so characteristic from these trees.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Hinata asks, curious.

“About the reason I’ve been… a little worse than usual,” Tsukishima grimaces.

“ _That’s_ one way to put it,” Kageyama snorts.

“I already told you to shut up,” Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “Anyway, it has appeared Kageyama was, for once in his life, the voice of reason, and I wanted to apologize.”

“Why only to me?” Hinata frowns. “You should tell that to Yachi and Yamaguchi too. Yamaguchi especially, I think.”

“Why especially- no, wait. I don’t know what he’s told you, but I’ll find out,” Tsukishima promises, lightly frowning.

When he doesn’t add anything else, Kageyama digs his elbow in his ribs without delicacy, unimpressed by the glare Tsukishima sends his way.

“ But it’s because it’s more complicated than that,” he reluctantly admits, turning to face Hinata again and crossing his arms. “I guess I’ll make it as quick and painless as I can, so there it is: I like you, have for some time now, and I had hoped that helping you get with Kageyama would help  _ me  _ get over it, but apparently, it hasn’t.”

He’s said all of this without pausing, almost in a single breath, like he might think about it again and run if he stops. Hinata can’t even begin to form a reply, though not for the reasons Kageyama and Tsukishima might be thinking about.

Yamaguchi had told him, but it’s another thing to hear Tsukishima confess it in person.

“I know,” he eventually tells them.

“Yamaguchi told you, didn’t he?” Tsukishima sighs.

“Yeah,” Hinata confirms, “this morning. I was actually going to talk to you both about it, but I wanted you to be at least able to hold a conversation without screaming before that. I didn’t think you’d beat me to the punch.”

“So?” Tsukishima prompts him. “Any comment?”

“Yes. Why did you even offer to pretend to date me?” Hinata blurts out. “That’s literally the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, and you’ve done a lot.”

“I really don’t want to hear that from you,” Tsukishima points out, “and I just explained.”

“Yeah, but it’s still dumb. Never mind, we’ll talk about it later,” he dismisses. “I actually have something to tell you guys too, and, uh, I don’t know how well you’ll take it.”

Both Kageyama and Tsukishima’s eyebrows lift up in surprise, and Hinata uses the extra second to prepare.

“When we were dating,” he begins, “at first I thought you were a very good actor. And then, after a while – after the aquarium, I think – I started to. To feel something for you,” he confesses. “I was scared, I had no idea what to do, and then you asked me why I hadn’t confessed to Kageyama, and I took it as a sign that I should keep going in that direction, so I did, and now, we’re here.”

Silence falls on them. Tsukishima’s eyes are wide, his lips slightly open, speechless. Kageyama, to Hinata’s surprise, doesn’t seem that shocked.

“I thought you actually liked him when you pretended,” he shrugs when Hinata tilts his head in a silent question. “I kept wondering, even after, because you never looked like you were forcing yourself.”

“Oh.”

“And now?” Tsukishima asks. “How do you feel about me now?”

“Still the same,” Hinata answers quietly. “Sorry.”

“I already told you to stop apologizing,” Tsukishima smiles.

It’s his real smile, one that has been rarer than ever these past days, and Hinata hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it. It makes his whole face soften and his eyes crinkle, and it makes Hinata’s heart skip a beat.

“So what do we do now?” Kageyama asks, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s kind of a mess.”

“This is why I didn’t want to say anything.”

“I wasn’t going to let you-”

“It’s stupid to-”

Hinata and Kageyama stop and look at each other, a grin forming on their lips.

“I dream of the day neither of you calls me stupid again,” Tsukishima sighs, the right corner of his mouth tugging up. “Fine, then what _do_ we do?”

“I talked with Kuroo and Kiyoko, actually,” Hinata speaks up. “This morning.”

“I don’t want to break your dreams, but Kageyama and I aren’t in love,” Tsukishima points out. “We’re not going to date each other.”

“No, I know,” Hinata agrees, “but I thought we could try – me dating both of you, at the same time. And you guys don’t have to be in love, you don’t technically even have to be friends, even though you already are, and maybe one day you’ll change your mind and maybe not, but that way we all… get what we want,” he finishes, hesitating on the last words.

Tsukishima seems to think it over, a surprised expression on his face, like he hadn’t expected that there would even be a solution. Kageyama scowls, deep in thought, and finally looks at Tsukishima.

“If you’d told me two hours ago I would have thought you were insane, but this might actually work,” he says.

“I… think so too,” Tsukishima admits. “I’m not sure how this will even work, but we can try.”

“We can figure it out later,” Hinata shrugs, knowing there’s a wild, relieved smile spreading across his face. “There’s got to be some kind of self-help book for polyamory or something.”

“Can’t you order a book like that for the shop?” Kageyama teases.

“You’d be surprised what counts as magic categories,” Tsukishima deadpans. “Technically, I could make it fit in at least two of these.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Not even a little bit.”

Hinata doesn’t even try to bite back his laugh. He’s happy, so happy. He’d had all the time in the world to run through the worst scenarios while he was waiting in the shop, and Yachi had supplied him with whatever he hadn’t thought of before Yamaguchi had made them stop talking, telling them he really didn’t need to feel more pressure about the plan – point is, he’d expected almost all possible outcomes. He’d hoped for this one, obviously, but to think it’s the one that is happening right now…

“We should go back,” Tsukishima remarks eventually. “I need to go check that they haven’t broken anything.”

“And I need to go eat,” Hinata remembers.

“It’s not even six yet,” Kageyama points out, confused.

“I was sort of so stressed about all this that I wasn’t really hungry,” Hinata tells them, rubbing the back of his head.

“I suggest we get Yamaguchi and Yachi and go eat somewhere,” Tsukishima offers. “What? I can close whenever I want.”

“Then I’m totally on board, I’m starving,” Hinata sighs dejectedly.

“It’s entirely your fault.”

They bicker like this until they reach the store, and when they step inside, Yachi and Yamaguchi are waiting for them. Hinata notices that the sign has been turned to indicate the shop is closed when Tsukishima inspects it with a knowing smirk.

“So? Did you guys sort everything out?” Yachi asks, her eyes flitting between them.

“We should be okay,” Tsukishima answers lightly. “Do you guys want to come eat with us?”

“I’ll come with, but I won’t eat,” Yachi smiles. “I have a date tonight.”

“A date?” Hinata repeats. “With who?”

“Yui,” Yachi answers, all red.

“Michimiya? Are you kidding, that’s awesome!” he exclaims, taking her in his arms.

“When did that happen?” Kageyama asks, puzzled.

“While you three were having your own problems,” Yachi points out with a smile. “And you’ll notice that I didn’t need all my friends pushing me to do something about it.”

None of them really has an answer to that. Hinata hugs her one last time anyway, and steps back, murmuring how proud he is of her before letting go. She tilts her head and her smile turns softer.

“Is this whole thing really over? Does that mean you’re finally going to turn down the emo music?” Yamaguchi asks Tsukishima.

“I knew this had upset you, but did you really fall back into emo songs?” Kageyama smirks.

“Of course not, Yamaguchi is lying,” Tsukishima replies.

“I have a copy of your playlist.”

“You know I’ll get revenge for that.”

“Where do you want to go?”

Hinata lets the chaos surround him, basking in its familiarity. He’s missed it this week, and he’s sure the others have too, longing for the easy friendship they’d all forged over the years. But now he has something more, and he doesn’t hesitate before taking Kageyama’s hand in his right, and Tsukishima’s in his left.

They will be okay.

 


	4. Epilogue

Hinata is lifting a fifth pen in the air just at eye level when Tsukishima passes him, disturbing two of them with a tap of his index.

“Hey!”

“Why don't you come help me if you're already so good at it,” Tsukishima asks, gesturing at the new arrival of orders.

Hinata knows he's been hunting for rarer supplies, hoping to attract more clients, which seems to be starting to work. He's not even entirely sure all of it is completely legal or safe, and he's been keeping a wary eye on the boxes for all the time he's been exercising in the room, but he respects that thrill Tsukishima gets from it. He lets the pens drop on the table and follows his boyfriend with a huff.

“I'm still supposed to practice.”

“ You've got it, you don't need to  _ practice _ ,” Tsukishima declares absently, skimming through the lit in his hand. “Take that one, leave the three smaller ones to me.”

Hinata complies, and hauls the one Tsukishima has pointed at, physically – he may be getting better at levitating things, but his focus is still shaky, especially around Tsukishima, so he prefers the old-fashioned way. He tries to glance at the paper in Tsukishima's hand, curious to know what's inside everything, but he gets gently shoved away. He flicks against Tsukishima's new earring in retaliation, knowing it's still a little sensitive, and flees before Tsukishima can keep the cycle going, his laugh trailing behind him.

He opens the box to see it's several containers of mineral dusts, and starts to replenish the shelves. He knows the store almost by heart now, with how much time he's spent there, getting all the time he could with Tsukishima. He'd eventually asked him to make himself useful if he wasn't going to do anything but stare at him all day, and Hinata had been more than happy to help, using every possible occasion to steal a kiss, or at least a touch.

It hadn't taken long for a routine to form, and Hinata is waiting for it to go like usual, glancing at the clock he's insisted for Tsukishima to install, right above the entry door. Its hands are inching toward six and a half, seconds ticking away.

He's done in only a few minutes, the entire process almost automatic for him by now, and he takes the empty box back into the back room. Tsukishima is sitting at the table, a book open before him, and shuts it quickly when Hinata enters, front cover turned down.

“What's that?”

“None of your business,” Tsukishima answers curtly.

Hinata can hear the underlying embarrassment, though, and he steps closer anyway, struggling with Tsukishima to see the cover. He's almost sitting on him when he gives up and settles for the back cover instead, reading over his boyfriend's shoulder.

“Magical theories and application of electric and thermodynamic laws in modern days,” he reads aloud, his eyebrows getting closer to his hairline at each word while Tsukishima is trying to hide his face. “Wow. That's really advanced stuff.”

Tsukishima hums in answer, and Hinata takes it as an agreement. He opens the book that Tsukishima has finally relinquished and flips through the different chapters. He recognizes a few of the formulas, things he's seen written on a blackboard and been told he doesn't need to understand, only to use, but most of it doesn't make sense to him.

“I can't believe you understand all that,” he declares, turning another page. “I mean, I know you're super smart, but – wow.”

“Please stop talking.”

“Let me compliment you, you stupid beanpole,” Hinata teases, closing the book. “I don't see why you're reading this, though, it looks like a textbook.”

When Tsukishima only sinks his face further behind his hand, Hinata frowns.

“Wait, _is it_ a textbook? Did you actually keep my mathematics book last time, when I thought I'd forgotten it?” Hinata questions as fast as he can say the words, grabbing Tsukishima's face to get closer. “Are you planning on going to college? _With us_?”

“You're hurting me,” Tsukishima protests. “And no, certainly not,” he denies when Hinata backs away, giving him a little bit of space. “I already did my time in high school.”

“I won't believe that you're reading textbooks for fun,” Hinata snorts. “So what is it?”

Tsukishima licks his lips, searching for something on Hinata’s face.

“Online classes,” he eventually relents.

Hinata lets out a wordless exclamation before throwing himself in Tsukishima's arms, almost causing them to fall down. Tsukishima looks vaguely panicked but also pleased, so he hugs him as tight as he can.

“I had no idea this would make you so happy,” Tsukishima says when he pulls away.

“ Are you kidding? The shop is nice, but you could be so  _ great  _ out of it,” Hinata proclaims.

There's a strange expression on Tsukishima's face, but someone knocks on the door before he can dwell on it.

“Is there a special occasion I missed, again?” Kageyama asks, confused frown pulling his mouth down.

“Did you know Kei is taking online magic classes?” Hinata informs him, still giddy.

“Yes?” Kageyama replies. “I helped him pick them. I thought you knew too.”

“What? Why did you tell _him_ and not me? _I'm_ your boyfriend!” Hinata asks Tsukishima.

“It just didn't seem important,” Tsukishima shrugs.

“If that was true, you wouldn't have hidden it,” Kageyama points out.

There's a small triumphant smile on his lips when Tsukishima flips him off, but he doesn't deny it.

“I just wasn't sure how you'd react, and I didn't want to tell you before it was confirmed anyway,” Tsukishima amends, looking away while he's being honest.

Hinata feels a rush of immense affection and bends to kiss him, almost gets lost in it before he remembers Kageyama.

“We have to celebrate, then,” Hinata declares when they part. “Come eat dinner with us.”

Tsukishima looks at Kageyama, who shrugs, not really bothered by Hinata's offer.

“I'll go close up then.”

He softly pushes Hinata away and they get up. He strides past Kageyama, and they touch, hands lightly brushing together. Hinata smiles at the detail. When this had all begun, they'd been awkward at best, all of them, not knowing how to act. It had gotten a lot better after Tsukishima and Kageyama had had a second heart to heart, one that has been entirely voluntary on their part.

He'd wondered a lot of times what the hell they were doing, if this was even normal, but Kageyama, surprisingly, had been the one to keep him grounded, and Tsukishima too. In some ways, his total obliviousness – or lack of care, Hinata still isn't sure – for the norm had allowed them to forget about it too, and Hinata had never felt happier than he had after he'd accepted that this, whatever the three of them had, was unique to them.

He saunters up to Kageyama and kisses him too, happy to see him again after having left him after their last class together. They spend a lot of time with each other, but Hinata rarely tires of it. Kageyama kisses him back, hugging him close, and the tender warmth he'd felt for Tsukishima earlier rises again in Hinata.

It’s just like they'd said, back when they'd decided to try this: they'll be okay.

  



End file.
